The Son of Neptune
by Kat-Anni
Summary: My version of the second book from the "Heroes of Olympus" series! Old friends take on a dangerous quest as their lost leader Percy Jackson is dropped in Roman camp without any memories of his past. While Percy struggles for approval, the enemy makes it dangerous for his friends to travel west. Percy/Annabeth, Piper/Jason, mentioned Characters from Lost Hero (Jason's Friends)
1. The shewolf's test

_January, 14th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, so hail Rick Riordan! :D**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Fanless_**  
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**A/N: Please READ THIS! **

Here is my first chapter. But don't expect more any time soon, I have some stress atm and just wanted to check out if the story would find any attention at all in this community and I should even continue writing xD

First things first though:** ENGLISH IS NOT MY NATIVE LANGUAGE!** German woman here. I wrote it for practice and so most of you can read it. So please, don't be too hard on me because of the writing style T_T I know the style probably isn't the best and my sentences could be more varied and stuff...just tell me if it gets too bad to bear, I'll try my best xP

Since this is stated now...as I said, this is the chapter to be put up as a test. I already have some chapters in storage but they are getting longer and longer...*sigh* I just have too much on my mind ^^" Tell me what you think please, I need it. Is it too long? Too many descriptions? More of them? More thoughts, does it confuse you somehow? **PLEASE, I need advice from other people! D**:

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_**Chapter I**_

**Percy**

When he woke, his whole body felt numb. It was strange because it seemed to have hit his head as well. A headache hammered in the back of his head as if some construction workers were trying to construct a building in it without having any idea what they were doing— because every five seconds, the building collapsed and the pain increased.

Although he was awake, he didn't feel tempted to open his eyes at all. Something was wrong here— but what?

Okay, maybe he should first find out where he was. His hands were lying on some stone floor. Oh well, someone dropped him on the floor then, sweet.

Maybe he fell? That would explain the builders in his head. And his nose was filled with something smelling like furry animal. He couldn't possibly guess what animal, but the scent was everywhere throughout the room. And he had smelled it before.

Before…yeah, where did he come from anyway? When did he fall asleep— or pass out— and where … — Heck! What was this? Who was he? He honestly did not know! That fact struck him so hard that he clenched his fists automatically.

His head was empty. Filled with darkness and pain alone. When he tried to think of something from his past, a wall of nothingness hit him like a car crashing into him at full speed. So confusing. So wrong. There had to be a way for him to remember…anything! But it should be more than the nothingness that was inside of his head now, he couldn't live with his head like this, that was just … impossible.

As the boy tried to concentrate on his surroundings even more, desperate in the process of his realization, he suddenly heard a voice. Realizing that his head was still somewhat numb and his muscles tired, he tried to listen to the voice and get an idea as to what was going on. It sounded to him like the middle of a conversation, but he could swear it had been silent a long time before he concentrated.

"Are you sure about this?" The deep, wise voice echoed from the stonewalls of the room they were in. He could swear that there was a kind of pain he knew in this voice, had heard somewhere before but again couldn't figure out where and in what situation. But then there was also a tone that made the young man shiver slightly. Like he or she wouldn't hesitate to kill someone that disobeyed him (or her?).

_"Yes, there is no other way, I assure you. You should leave here as soon as he wakes up; my powers don't last much longer and this has to be done,"_ another voice replied. In opposition to the first voice this one was higher, obviously female, and seemed to be far away like speaking through a long tunnel— strange.

"If you say so I will take him in. If he passes the test, that is." The first voice didn't seem to be pleased with the decision of the second one, but sounded like it had no choice but to obey.

_"Oh, I bet he will. Let me tell you, Percy's powerful. But don't ask, there's no telling you more than this, it could ruin everything. Farewell, Lupa, sent Jason a hint, he could use one that's not from me."_

And with these words, everything went even darker.

Percy? Right, perhaps she meant him? That could be possible; he was sure he'd heard that before, though maybe it could be his imagination. His eyes closed the whole time, Percy realized that the second voice or the person it belonged to must have had a candle in her hands or something because now it seemed like the room or whatever he was in was completely dark.

But before he could even think about opening his eyes to check out his surroundings, assuming that the other person had left as well, a noise right before his face made him recoil. A smell reached his nose that was now even stronger. It smelled like an animal, but not stinky: it was a pleasant smell, in a strange way.

A shadow emerged above his head and he felt a stare that couldn't possibly be from a human being. _Oh gods, what_— "Whoa there!" He tried to jump to his feet: that sniffing sound and the scent— he knew now, it smelled like a dog— was far too close for comfort.

Instead of landing on his feet like he intended to do, he stumbled backwards and his eyes widened in shock. The young man found himself against some strange, crumbling wall full of ivy and staring at a wolf bigger than he'd ever seen. As far as he knew, that was, which didn't mean much.

It looked at him with eyes that seemed to have seen many things, things he couldn't even imagine. Silver like very expensive trinkets, these eyes were fixed at him, staring holes into his body. The fur of the creature was of a warm brown, though her gaze seemed far the opposite from warm, and maybe he was having hallucinations again, but it seemed as if the fur was glowing.

And strangely, it wasn't shocked about Percy's reaction to its sniffing him. Its expression without emotion, it lifted its head and looked down at him as if he was meat that wasn't even worth eating.

"Oh, so you're already awake. Here, drink that, young hero, it'll regenerate your strength. When you're finished, follow me."

The voice— the first one, the boy with no memories noticed— came from the she-wolf, but she didn't move her mouth at all. But that wasn't the only thing that startled the young man; the second was that she called him 'young hero'. Was he one? Did he do something good? And if yes, what? Because he didn't know a thing. Argh! Now he was having some serious issues: _wolves can't talk, right?_ But he wasn't as shocked as he probably should have been.

Lupa, as the second voice had called her, pointed on a bottle sitting at the stone floor next to the spot he had just been laying. Where had he heard that name before? It just wasn't coming back to him.

"Don't drink too much, though. Two sips should be enough."

Still confused and uneasy on his feet, the boy walked over to the bottle, uncapped it and drank a bit. As soon as the liquid hit his tongue, he felt better and the taste … Well, he couldn't quite describe it.

It was something he really liked. Why did the word chocolate chip cookie pop into his mind? And blueberries, okay, blueberry chocolate chip cookies? He ate that? When? Where? Something tingled in his head and he had to lower the bottle and lift his hand to it. Shit, that hurt.

A picture was trying to come to him, but his mind seemed to block it out. Like some crazy defense wall inside his brain, or something. What was wrong with him? This wasn't normal.

As the she-wolf was about to leave the room, he shouted something to stop her. "Wait! Why am I here and who am I?"

She indeed stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around. "I'll tell you more when you pass the test. At least as much as I know."

Then she left, and the young and confused one was alone with a plastic bottle full of muffin juice._ No, nectar,_ a voice said inside his head suddenly— and just as suddenly it was gone, silence again.

"_Nectar…_" he whispered, and stared at his hands holding the bottle. _Where did that come from?_

Then, filled with sudden determination, he drank another sip from it and jumped, testing his muscles out. It worked well, so he dropped the closed bottle to the floor and ran after the wolf. If he couldn't find out what was up and who he was by standing there and thinking, he might as well do that test the wolf was talking about.

While running, he looked around the building more carefully. Nobody was here, but it seemed like an abandoned place anyway. The walls were crumbling and it must once have been a big and beautiful house, but that seemed long ago. Now there was a mysterious feeling to this place that gave him a shiver down his spine and got him running faster.

The walls were plastered with ivy and there were holes in it all over the place. Some of the holes looked like faces of ghosts or even monsters. They stared down at Percy and the boy didn't like the look on their faces very much. There was fog wandering the ground like it was alive, trying to grab his feet and keep him from running away. Through the holes, sunlight lit the ground, and because of the fog in the air the light left a trail in midair.

Percy rushed through the room at high speed, noticing that he could run pretty fast and long, since he didn't get tired at all._ Just away from here. Yeah, good plan_, he thought and looked away from the black hole in the back of the room that seemed to lead even farther inside the building. That thing gave him a bad feeling somehow. And was it just his imagination or was the ground trembling?

It was a deep sound, rumbling through the building and making his stomach ache. He ignored it and soon reached the she-wolf, who was waiting outside. She looked at him as if checking his fitness and nodded slightly. "Very well, climb on my back. We're getting out of here."

It was strange that she offered this because she had such a royal feeling to her that Percy could've sworn she was something more than just a wolf, even if she wasn't actually able to talk. Before she departed, her golden eyes glanced behind her in the direction of the house and seemed somewhat worried; but she shook it off as soon as Percy noticed her stare. He just nodded slowly and climbed up the she-wolf's back, slightly gripping her fur when she started to run into the forest around them. Somehow he was afraid of hurting her, sure that she would immediately kill him for it. From the outside, the house behind them seemed even spookier.

Lupa ran fast, and Percy clung very tight to her, though he tried not to grip too firmly. Oh gods, who did this to his mind? And why did he always put "god" in plural automatically? Yes, he felt better after drinking that 'nectar' but still, his head did hurt pretty badly. Like …yeah, like someone knocked him on the head hard and repeatedly until he fell unconscious, then opened his brain and took it out, sewed his head together brutally and left him on the ground to rot. His whole life— He must've _had _a life! It was there, he could feel it. But no … still, he knew nothing. And if he was a normal guy, why wasn't he shocked by the taste of that liquid, by the strange voice that seemed to glow somehow or by the she-wolf talking? That wasn't exactly normal, right? But it didn't knock him off his feet at all.

As he was still thinking about this, the she-wolf suddenly stopped. Feeling uneasy sitting on the royal wolf's back, the boy slid off immediately and looked around. Was this where the test would be held? They were just standing in the middle of a clearing...

Suddenly, out of nowhere, he was surrounded by other wolves. They looked hungry, and he didn't like that look in their eyes. Not good. No, not really. And then it got worse.

"Now, young demigod. Show me if you are worthy of training in the Roman legion. My brethren are hungry. If you fail, we'll have a nice dinner. Do you still want to risk it?"

He gulped and took a deep breath. Trying to get all the questions out of his mind that came up with what Lupa said, he nodded, slowly but surely. As he did, Percy looked directly into her eyes for the first time.

That was a mistake. He felt like they pulled him in, controlled him and showed him crazy, impossible things, things that could never actually happen. Lupa now grinned— that looked strange, something between baring her teeth and showing them for a smile— and nodded to the right as if he was to follow her. When they reached the trees and walked past a few, tall ones of assorted types, he was sure that someone once taught him which names they had and what their leaves could do or something.

Oak, lark, beech … but when he tried to remember the face of his teacher, again, his headache got worse and he let it go. After a few steps he had to stop suddenly: blinking once, he realized that he stood at the edge of some huge— very, _very _huge— abyss. Below him he saw even more woods and a lake right below him at the very bottom of the abyss. Which was, like…a thousand feet away.

What now? Did she want him to jump? If yes, then why didn't he panic? Looking at the lake he felt better, yeah, just by looking at it.

That was strange. Also not very normal. Right? Any normal person would yelp and get themselves as far away from this place as fast as possible, because if you jumped off this thing …anyone'd be dead meat for sure. But Lupa nodded again as if she was reading his thoughts, her expression gleeful.

"Yes, that's right. You are jumping. And if not, you're being eaten. So, what do you choose?"

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**A/N:** Hope you liked it :3 **PLEASE review, I'm not going to continue if I get no feedback! :|**


	2. The hole he left

**I don't own any of the characters (those I do appear later on *muhaha*) so hail Rick Riordan! :D**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _Carter Lee Grace_

**A/N:** _Hehe, here I am again :) The new chapter jumps to Camp Half Blood and continues right after the end of "The lost Hero", taking in Jason's last sentence from it. I now got myself a beta-reader and she's really lovely! I thank _Carter Lee Crace _for beta reading this with so much effort, correcting all my mistakes and turning this into fluent English! *hug* I hope it's a little better now for you to read :) And don't worry, I still have some chapters to post but still much stress, no telling when the next one will come. Carter says she's also busy so let's see xD Just enjoy for now and again, _**TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!**_ I mean, I practically begged for it and only got one review? Oh please -_- (I don't count Carter's here, she's beta reading after all so I sent her a link to it and she was so nice to post a review :3). So just tell me, a simple "please continue" or "I like it" is enough, I even want to know what you don't like!_

**Just do it! :) I'd really be happy and it'd let me speed up the uploads ;P**

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**_Chapter II_**

**Annabeth**

"Exactly," Jason said, "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't remember who he is."

The entire room was silent after hearing Jason's words. All of the demigods in the rec room were staring at the young blond hero, except for Annabeth. She had buried her face in her hands, trying to pull herself together. She couldn't just burst out in tears right before the other counselors. The daughter of Athena had too much pride for that. She took a shaky breath to stop her sour thoughts. Annabeth wanted to continue the discussion as if nothing happened. But she winced when Clarisse banged her fist right on the ping-pong table with what seemed like full force, causing whatever was placed on the table to jump a few inches.

"That idiot! Letting himself be dragged into enemy territory by Hera!"

Yeah, that was pretty much what Annabeth expected Clarisse to say. But she knew that Clarisse didn't mean the idiot thing seriously though. Clarisse and Percy had been getting along just fine as of recently, despite the fact that they had been enemies since Percy came to camp, with Percy drenching her in toilet water, beating up her father, and all that stuff. Still, Annabeth lifted her face and forced her lips into a smile.

"Yeah, that's Seaweed Brain for you. Now, what do we do? To be honest, I wouldn't wait for the ship to finish. That'd be half a year and we don't know what Percy has to…go through in that camp." She hesitated, knowing that this sounded partly selfish. But what if she was right and they either turned Percy into some disciplined soldier –which he just wasn't!- or killed him because he was untrustworthy?

But she had to continue, neither of them objected, though some seemed unsure. "This is going to be dangerous though. But as Clarisse mentioned, arriving at the Roman camp with a warship would probably make them think they're being attacked. And we all know that the roman military is nothing to make fun of." She looked at Jason, who nodded slowly. He seemed to think about something.

"You're sure right with that. They wouldn't even think about listening to you. Maybe if we have a small group of strong demigods and arrive there on food…I should be able to find it, at least I could try…" he lost track of what he wanted to say further but Annabeth just nodded, facing the others again.

"He's right. We need a small group. But a group of three is too little, the thread of Gaia is too big for three people to handle. The last thing Gaia would want us to achieve is to unite the two camps and defeat her children together with the gods. She'll do everything she can to prevent us from reaching San Francisco." Her voice was serious and reasoning as ever. Why was she that good at pretending to be okay? Well, Chiron and Piper, strangely enough, didn't seem very convinced. She was met with two expressions of sorrow: Piper's, out of pity for losing her boyfriend, most likely, and Chiron's, as if he was sorry he couldn't have told her more before. Well, she appreciated the offer, but now wasn't the right time for her feelings...maybe later, when she was alone in her bed, like always. It was bad enough that she once broke down in front of Piper, and that was probably why she was getting that look from her now. Besides, that was okay with her, since Piper was the daughter of Aphrodite, and would be the first one to sense her feelings of longing towards Percy. But if she had a breakdown like that here in the rec room, her respect would be gone in a flash.

Percy wouldn't want her to be so desperate. He just would want her to search for him, and believe in his strength to survive until they meet again. At least, that's what she would've wanted him to do if she went missing. So Annabeth had to concentrate on setting this straight first; her fears would have to wait to be pondered over later.

Again, the room fell silent for a while until Chiron raised his voice. "Well, Jason already agreed on leading, right?" He looked at Jason who immediately nodded.

"Yeah, definitely. I bet when I'm with you they won't try to kill us the second we step inside the boundaries." Jason grinned at Annabeth, as if he wanted her to smile back, and she managed to lift the corners of her lips a little.

"Thanks, Jason," she said, relieved. Jason was a very strong demigod after all.

Chiron continued, and everyone turned back to the centaur. "I must agree with Annabeth that this isn't going to be an easy task at all. Especially without the finished ship. Gaia will try everything to make the two camps hate each other again and you have to be immune to it. Try not to draw attention to yourself, so they don't assume you're coming to attack their Castra. Plus-"

"Castra?" It came from Miranda Gardiner, and she appeared really confused by all of this. Annabeth opened her mouth to answer, but it was Jason who beat her to it, like a shotgun.

"That's the Latin word for camp." He blinked, totally confused about what he just said and where it came from. The other counselors looked at him, and all of a sudden Piper started to laugh. Jason however, seemed the most surprised, turning to face the girl next to him.

"W-what?" he asked, blushing slightly.

"Um, it's just kinda cu- I mean, uh, funny when you do that." Jason didn't look very pleased with that answer and his face became even redder. The rest of the demigods all had to suppress a laugh, even Annabeth.

Chiron cleared his throat, quickly quieting everyone down. "Very well, now that that's settled, who else is going to accompany Jason and Annabeth?" He looked at the blonde girl with a certain glint in his eyes, and she nodded in return. She knew what Chiron meant. They needed power and wisdom, but in this case, there were a few others they really needed…

"Well, Piper will you come with us, right? We'll need your charmspeaking. And Leo, your skills could be helpful too. Besides, you three did well together in the last quest, and a good team is better than 10 valuable fighters."

They weren't surprised. After all, they already agreed of coming with Jason again. Thogh Leo's face turned a little grm. Piper was the first to answer.

"Oh yeah, I'd really like to…come along." She bit her lip, her colorful eyes glancing over at Jason.

Annabeth immediately understood Piper's reaction, and she had to smile. Then, she turned and fixed her stormy gray eyes at Leo. Surprisingly, he shook his head.

"I'd really like to," said the son of Hephaestus, "But the Argo II isn't going to be finished in half a year if I'm not here helping my cabin. I thought we were going to wait for the finish. But this…is going to be difficult. You'll have to go without the awesome me and my many talents." He shrugged and leaned back in his seat, arms crossed. But to the shock of many of the campers at the table, Annabeth grinned.

"Oh, don't worry, that should be okay. I know some really good mechanics who can help you out. Old friends…they're definitely going to speed up the building rate." All eyes were directed at her again. Well, except for Clovis, who was asleep like he usually was.

Clarisse seemed to understand who Annabeth was talking about. "Oh, you mean…?" Annabeth gave her an affirmative look. Chiron nodded slowly thinking over the possibility.

"Yes…that should be doable. He'd want to help, since he can't come with you because he'd draw too much attention to himself. Also, how do you plan to get there? We can't really trust the winds, and especially not the earth. Any form of ground or air transport would be too dangerous."

He fixed his eyes back on to Annabeth, knowing that she was the best when it came to ideas. The blonde thought about it: no air and no ground…so no plane, train, bus, car or helicopter-

"What about a ship?"Jason asked, also looking at Annabeth, his eyebrows raised. "That's not earth or air-"

"I'm _not_ going on any ship without Percy!" Annabeth snapped abruptly. Right away, she slapped her hand over her mouth, mentally cursing in ancient Greek. Hades, she didn't mean to say that out loud! Why didn't her tongue listen to her anymore! She really needed to get out of here for now.

"S-sorry, Jason. I…I'm going to message a few people now just so we can be sure…yeah." With this, she jumped off her chair and ran out of the room, followed by some confused stares, but some pitying glances as well.

The door locked behind her, and she heard lots of footsteps inside the Big House, Annabeth broke out into a run; she didn't want anyone to chase after her and see the tears that had welled up in her gray eyes. With a desperate attempt to calm herself before actually sending some Iris messages, she ran across the whole camp and ended up at the beach. She only realized where she had ended up after she was already staring at the ocean. The blue-green ocean, just as…Styx! Why did she come here? Annabeth dropped on to the cold sand, one hand, sinking onto the half frozen ground, while the other one shielded her eyes, as if that could stop the tears from falling. They had come here so often…her and Percy.

It was so amazing how he could sit here at the sea and be so calm, as if he was home, and as soon as he stood up he was his ADHD self again, unable to stand still, making fun of everything even if it wasn't funny at all. Annabeth would still laugh, eventually punching him for being so stupid, calling him Seaweed Brain. But he could also be so sweet. They had watched the fireworks here together on July 4th… The memory was so clear, hurt her so much, that she was now ready to punch herself for being stupid enough to come here. She had avoided the ocean ever since he had gone missing. Its color reminded her of his eyes, and the waves were just as unpredictable as his temper. But at least she was alone here…besides her and Percy, people rarely ever came to the beach, except when it was summer, when you could go surfing or do other stuff in the sand

For Percy, it was always his favorite place, even during winter when the lake was frozen, the ocean ice cold, and snow covered everything, just like now. Annabeth sat at a spot where the waves must have been splashing at a few hours ago, as the sand was ice cold, but without a trace of snow. Still, the air was freaking cold! The wind was strong, but she had left her jacket in the Big House. So she sat here in jeans and her orange camp sweater, plus some armor and her knife at her side. Great, just great, really. What was she thinking? She, a daughter of Athena…Well, that was the problem. She wasn't thinking at all right now. Her mother wouldn't like this, but she didn't even care. Had she really been that happy with Percy, only realizing now about how much she loved him? And just because he was missing? Well, he wasn't just missing. She knew where he was now, but that didn't really raise her hopes.

Roman camp…Jason said that they were more disciplined. Percy and discipline? Not really a good combination, to say the least. She liked him the way he was – unpredictable and stubborn - even if most of the things he did in combat were too risky for logical fighters – like her- to think of. Then again, that was what made him win pretty much all of his battles. But…what if the Roman campers found out about who Percy really was and just killed him? As Jason said, they weren't as friendly as the demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Percy being in that much danger - she just couldn't stand it. Not that he hadn't been in life-threatening situations before, but he…he had lost his memory. That meant he couldn't remember his friends, his home, his family… or her. And he was handsome, that was for sure.

Annabeth knew that most Aphrodite girls were just waiting for her to break up with Percy so they could have him. They would probably be flirting with him if Annabeth wasn't known for her defensiveness when it comes to her boyfriend. But at Roman camp…what if the girls took the advantage of his lost memories? What if he didn't know a thing about her, and when she arrived at the Roman camp he was with some other girl? Just like…just like Jason? He found Piper here, but who said he didn't have someone waiting for him at the Roman camp? Jason was the Roman camp's leader and all, and Percy was just that at Camp Half-Blood, their leader. And with him missing, it was as if a big hole had opened up right in the middle of the camp, just like the one that had opened up right inside her own heart. As if the Underworld had just opened up right beside the lake.

Ha. Annabeth laughed bitterly at the irony of her thoughts. The Underworld was practically wide open right now. That's why it was so difficult to reach Nico. Annabeth had tried many times, but had only managed to reach him once, and that was the day after Percy disappeared. She had asked him to look for Percy, but ever since then she hadn't seen a sign of the 12 year old son of Hades. And, now of all times, Hera had to come up with this crazy and totally not foolproof plan. Both camps without a leader, and she actually thought that it would somehow unite them? Annabeth sighed and pulled her knees to her chest for warmth. It was then that she heard light footsteps behind her.

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**Please Review! It'll make it faster, promise. The more reviews I get the faster the next chapter will be there...Just saying.**


	3. Belated arrival

**I don't own any of the characters (those I do appear later on *muhaha*) so hail Rick Riordan! :D**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _Carter Lee Grace_

**A/N: **_Hey guys! Because I got some reviews, here's the reward! *cheer* Hope you enjoy it though it's not as long as the last one. You see, me and my beta reader (whom I thank for doing the job again *hug*) are very busy atm so just be a little bit patient :)__  
__Btw, I'll change the perspectives in no particular order, just always like my mood goes...Mostly Annabeth or Percy though. No worries, there's going to be much more than romance in this story ;P Not so much of mainstream love-plot about them getting together again. Of course there's going to be fluff but it's not the main subject :)_

**Anyway, REVIEW IF YOU RED THIS! I WANNA KNOW WHAT-YOU-THINK! *evil Annabeth stare* **(And yes, yours does count, Carter ;P)

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_**Chapter III**_

**Jason**

Totally startled by Annabeth's reaction to his suggestion, Jason stared at the spot where the female demigod just sat.

"W-what's her problem now exactly?" he finally managed to get out of his mouth after a few moments of confusion, like the others in the rec room. All of them looked at the door, but their expressions differed from one another. Some were confused, like Jason, but most of them had pity in their eyes. Rachel sighed and bit her lip as if she had expected it. Did he say something wrong? Of course it was sad that she lost her boyfriend, and Jason understood that she didn't want to show it in front of all these people, but why did she snap because he suggested taking a ship? Just because it was a water vehicle and Percy was the son of Poseidon? Well that hadn't been his intention, and she should've known that. Seriously, why did it have to be so complicated with girls sometimes? Like with Piper… Who was that Reyna girl he remembered? He really liked Piper, but what if…ugh, this was all so messed up! Right now, he just wished this Percy guy would have better luck than him. _As if that was possible_, he thought, sighing slightly.

His questions were partially answered when Chiron finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Jason, but Annabeth probably really won't go on a ship without Percy, which would be very wise, actually." _Of course a daughter of Athena would have a really wise reason to storm out of the room and leave us all confused. _But he still didn't get it.

"Why? It should be safe. Water isn't associated with earth or air." But Chiron just smiled and opened his mouth to answer his question.

However, before he could do so, the door opened, and a girl stood in the threshold. Her black hair was a little messy, and she wore a silvery shining jacket. A bow rested in her hand, it magically disappeared into nothing. She was out of breath and clearly worn out, but still had a big grin on her pretty face. The circlet atop of her head shone in the dim light of the room, and her piercing blue eyes sparkled.

"Hi guys. Sorry for taking so long to get here. Artemis had an emergency I had to take care of." Everyone returned the smile, except for Leo, who was acting like he was about to go to a photo shoot, combing his curly hair with his fingers.

"Thalia! I'm so glad you made it, come and sit down at the chair for cabin 8,"Chiron said, pointing at an empty chair in the corner of the room which looked like it hadn't been used for years. As she walked to her seat, she passed by Jason and smiled at him, and his lips lifted in return. He had been worried that something had happened to her, since she had promised she would come.

"Jason! You got back safely, what a relief. Now where's Annabeth, is everything ready to go?" She knew Annabeth well enough to know that the blonde girl would never miss a meeting unless something terrible had happened.

Jason answered, "Er, Annabeth ran out of the room just before you came in. She kinda snapped after I suggested us to take a ship to the Roman camp-"

"Oh. I see now." Thalia immediately seemed to understand what still puzzled her brother.

"What? That's just logical!" Jason protested. What had he done? Frustration crossed his face as his mind kept trying to figure out the problem here.

Thalia replied, "No, it's not. I guess you wouldn't know this, but Percy can control ships perfectly with his mind. Considering that you're up against someone like Gaia…" she sighed, and Chiron continued for her.

"She's right. Gaia may be the earth, but we don't know how many ocean spirits she has on her side. Plus, she has several sons with powers over water, and it's possible someone will try to kill you. With Percy on a ship, you'd have someone who has a much better chance of keeping Gaia from drowning your boat, but without him, it would be suicide. Plus, you'd have to go a very complicated way through the rivers or all the way around the united states. The more time you take and the longer the way, the more Gaia has the chance of ruining your plans. If you go through the skies, you could help, Jason. You have a relatively strong control over the winds and if you try hard enough, I'm sure you'll be able to hold most of the wind spirits off your plane. And the linear distance is always the shortest. Thalia, are you with us or does Artemis require you?"

Thalia nodded slightly, and said, "I'm coming with you." Jason was extremely glad to hear that, since he had so many questions to ask her. Like was that Percy guy really that powerful? Then again, if a child of the sky could fly and control lightning, then a child of the ocean should also have some serious power over water, right? They really would need him to steer the Argo II when the time came. But Gaia was still getting stronger, even though she already had a tremendous amount of strength. How exactly did he survive that last quest again? He still couldn't believe he came back in one piece. Suddenly, Thalia stood up from her chair, snapping Jason out of his thoughts.

"You can discuss this further; I think I should be going after Annabeth…" Her expression was hard to read, but Jason guessed that it was a girl thing.

"I'll go with you," Piper said, getting up from her seat as well. She gave Jason a slight smile, and then walked off with Thalia. Now that he thought about it, Piper had been nervous throughout the entire meeting, sliding from one side of her chair to the other. Had she already been contemplating about going after Annabeth? Or was she aware that he had started to remember his friends from the other camp? She couldn't be, at least, he had tried to hide it…oh please no. Jason didn't want her to be upset. This was his problem after all, not hers.

His thoughts were interrupted by Chiron. "Well , is it okay with you that you're going by plane? We don't have any other means of air transportation, except for the flying chariot, which is still in ruins. Thalia and you will have to take control of the winds, and Leo is steering, I suppose?"

Leo nodded and said, "Well, I'm good at that, true. But we can't take a public plane, right? First of all, I wouldn't be able to steer it, no mortal who's right in the brain would let me. Also, Jason and Thalia would have a hard time controlling winds when they're sitting in the plane. Plus, all the people in it would be in danger if the storm gods try to blow us out of the air. And I'm pretty sure they won't stop to do so just because of the mortals…"

Chiron seemed to think about it. "That's right," he replied, "But where can we get a private jet ?"

"My father has a few." Rachel pointed out quietly. She said anything during the entire discussion, and now she seemed embarrassed, and everyone was looking at her. A _few_? Like, more than one? Were her parents that wealthy? He thought she lived in a cave...Apparently, there was a lot about Rachel that he had yet to learn.

Fortunately, Leo managed to save Rachel from this awkward silence.

"Piper's dad also has one. We already saw it, it has just the right size. We could ask him, considering Coach Hedge is with him, maybe that's a better plan than taking it from your mortal parents, Rachel. Since Piper's going with us and all." Rachel said it was a better idea, answering right away, almost too eager at the alternative plan. She didn't like bringing up how rich her parents were.

The centaur seemed pleased with the idea, and nodded in agreement. Chiron also seemed more relaxed after Thalia and Piper went after Annabeth. Well, it really was pretty sad. If Jason imagined his girlfriend not remembering him, and being in that much danger, he would probably be a wreck. Problem was, maybe he _was_ in the same situation, maybe his friends were searching for him, maybe his imaginary-but-possibly-real girlfriend was worried sick about him… It wasn't fair. What had Hera/Juno been thinking? How could this plan even work?

Chiron dismissed the meeting a short time after things were settled, and everybody left the Big House. He had told them to tell the other campers about what happened so nobody would ask Jason, Leo and Piper further annoying questions. Leo returned to Bunker 9 with the rest of his cabin, and Jason was walking back to his own cabin, when he heard voices. He looked up and saw a small group of people walking towards cabin 3, stopping in front of the doorway.

What kind of person would be suicidal enough to enter Poseidon's cabin?

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**Thanks for reading! Again a reminder: REVIEW! :)**


	4. Questions

**_Percy Jackson doesn't belong to me but to Rick Riordan :)_**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**_  
_**

**_A/N:_**_ Sorry for the laaaate chapter guys ^^" So here's a little more of Percy, hope you like it :D_

_Sorry, but the next chapters will arrive a little later now, just be a little patient with me, I'll soon attend an entering-exam at university and I'm stressing myself out because of it. So not much time for writing, unfortunately! D8_

_ Again, so many thanks to Carter Lee Grace for the beta reading! *hug*_

_**..REVIEW! ._.**  
_

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**_Chapter IV_**

**Percy**

So she really wanted him to jump off this crazy high chasm? What was wrong with this she-wolf? Why did he have to listen to her anyway? Should he really kill himself by jumping off some cliff just because a wolf told him to? And what if he did die, would anyone care? He didn't know. Would anyone hold a funeral? He didn't know. And why did he have the feeling that what the wolf said was really important for him and the rest of his life? He honestly had no clue!

Where were all his answers? You normally know your full name, right? And you normally know how old you are, what you like for breakfast, or who your parents are, who you're going out with- Well, stuff like that. But he didn't. His mind was completely blank, like nothing was there. But maybe…his only way to figure all this out was to pass this test. And when he thought about it, he only needed a second to decide what he had to do.

Against that pack of wolves, he wasn't sure if he could win. Maybe hold them off a bit, but hurting them would probably only make them angrier. And without a weapon…he had no chance. But that lake…for some reason he felt that if he landed in that, he wouldn't die so easily.

So he jumped.

Without a reaction to anything else, just a very determined look on his face, he leaped forward and concentrated on landing in the water. Falling, falling, feeling the cool wind on his skin, waiting for him to hit the cement like surface-

But all of a sudden, he was lying on his stomach, facing the snowy ground of the clearing he had just been on with Lupa. They were alone, and he heard her voice, which sounded pretty amused "Hm. You're the only one besides Jason who jumped with that much determination in at least a century. All the others choose my wolves, which is also brave enough to pass. Some jumped because they were desperate or begged for mercy…They were eaten. Very well, Percy Jackson. So Juno was right after all. Here, take this and put it on." She summoned a purple colored sweater out of nothing and handed it to him, biting it like a dog fetching the newspaper. However, she managed to make it look much more graceful.

The young demigod was totally confused. "Where…..where did the lake go? And the abyss, the wolves?" he asked, staring at the she-wolf. He was starting to believe that he had some mental issues. First no memory, and now a complete abyss and 5 big creatures just disappear? And Jackson? Yeah, somehow that name sounded familiar. So he was Percy Jackson- and he was crazy.

But Lupa just tilted her head and grinned, which looked more scary than reassuring, although Percy assumed that's what she was going for. "That was an illusion. The abyss was never there." Percy couldn't believe his ears, staring at the she-wolf in awe. So she really wasn't normal; she was special…royal maybe… no, more than that. But he couldn't quite name it. Okay, so he had been right. He was either going crazy or something really weird was going on. _Let's get this over with_. He sighed, shrugged and pulled off the sweater he had been wearing. Underneath it he was wearing a plain orange T-Shirt, except for the picture of a black, winged horse._A Pegasus…_something in his head said, without warning. He also had the feeling that there should've been something else on his shirt, other words, but the more he tried to figure it out, the more it seemed to elude him. He grimaced as his headache increased, and finally gave up the attempt to remember anything else.

He gave his old sweater to Lupa, who said that it would be brought to his new home as soon as they knew his godly parent. That confused Percy even more, and he observed the newer sweater to get all these questions off his mind. Well, it didn't really help because even more questions came because of it. Did he always have so many things to ask? Or was it just because there was nothing in his brain to explain it all?

Why was there _SPQR _written on it, and what did that mean? He sighed and pulled the sweater over his head. Instinctively, he reached up to his neck and found a leather necklace, with four beads and a crystal strung on. Looking at it, Percy had to wonder where it was from, and if the beads had any meaning. One with a trident, one a picture of…the Empire State Building? Why would that be there? Was he from New York? Why did he feel like he knew the people whose names were inscribed on it? Why was he incapable of ending any of his thoughts with a period? Maybe this wasn't the right time…perhaps he should wait until he was alone, and then try it again. He broke his gaze away from the necklace and looked up at Lupa, who was still standing there, watching him patiently and carefully.

"Why purple?" Percy asked randomly into the silence of the winter day. Of course, of everything he could have possibly asked her, he chose this one.

"Why not?" the she-wolf replied, and it sounded like she was smirking.

"It's a…you know, rather _girly _colour, isn't it?" Lupa laughed a bit but shook her head, being serious again.

"No…no, that's not the reason. Get on my back, it's time to get you to camp." She turned her side to him so he could easily climb on, but Percy hesitated.

"Wait. I've got some serious questions to ask. Where am I, what is this whole 'godly parent' business that somehow seems so familiar, and why am I not shocked to the death by the fact that you can summon illusions and sweaters out of midair?"_And those aren't even all of them…_His confusion had to have been showing, but the she-wolf just ignored it, turning her head to look in another direction.

"You'll learn all about this when we get to the Castra. The memories you really need are already inside of you and your muscles. If they are necessary, they will find their way back to your mind. So just get on, the soldiers should all be finished with breakfast right now." Again, no answers. What was the game here, and why was he the only player who was completely clueless? It just wasn't fair…but if Lupa said things will clear up when he gets to this "Castra", maybe he should do as she ordered.

And the wolf's royal aura seemed to speak for itself, clearly giving Percy an order. So he jumped on Lupa's back, grabbing the fur on her neck like he had a few minutes ago. Lupa raced through the snow, carrying the demigod along with her. A few faint feelings returned, and he learned that he didn't like being forced to do something. In the meantime, Percy - at least he wasn't nameless – noticed something else was weird.

Lupa, the big she-wolf, didn't leave behind any tracks in the snow. The only ones that were visible were his own, where he had stood in the middle of the clearing and then dropped over, nose first. Nothing else was there, and it was kinda creepy. Trying to shake the thought out of his head, he looked to the front, but what he saw wasn't exactly normal either.

The whole time he had been here, there had been heavy fog. He couldn't possibly see farther than 100 feet in any direction, and that was already pretty strange. But there was more. Everything around him blurred when Lupa ran, as if they were going incredibly fast, like in those movies. Or like sitting in a really fast car. Why did he have the feeling that he'd travelled this way before?

When they reached the top of a relatively ordinary hill, he expected a normal sight for once, but of course, he probably should've guessed that nothing was going to be normal after the chasm experience. The blur stopped and he could see relatively clear again. Down below them, there were at least 10 or more tents at the size of houses. Right there, in the middle of a meadow.

They all looked different, yet somehow alike, and nothing like normal tents. They had such an awesome feeling to them, not like a tent you could buy in any shop on this planet. Neatly beaded they were arranged in two lines, like a Roman numeral II. One was decorated with all kinds of flowers, but not cheesy flowers like a grandma's but all kinds of flowers, red, yellow, blue, big, tiny, all of them really growing out of the fabric as if they were real. One farther to the right had blue-green fabric, and there were all kinds of seashells and even some fishing hooks pictured. Those symbols or real objects – Percy couldn't really tell from this distance – were arranged in a broad stripe around the middle of the tent, and the rest was of a dark cyan color. Another one had red fabric on it, and with black paint or something, someone had painted, uh, _interesting_ words all over it, like "die, bitches" or "Mars' children rule the world." Stuff like that.

Out of this tent, a girl walked over the big meadow between the marquees. She had two golden swords in her hand, and as Lupa came closer, Percy noticed that the girl was wearing armor. Her hair was brown, pulled back into a tight ponytail. And naturally, she was the first person to notice him and Lupa coming down the foggy hill.

Percy now noticed a big house made of marble standing right across the tents, creating an aisle towards the building. Behind it, there were more houses - well, halls actually -as well as a lake with a half frozen beach and ice blue water, and then again, more fog. All of it seemed organized somehow, and groups of young people were all over the really, really big meadow, marching to a destination he couldn't make out.

The fog was lighter here, but he had only a vague impression of being in a place like this once. Other kids soon noticed the young man, and gathered around the big she-wolf when Lupa and Percy arrived in front of the tents, watching them. None of the soldiers got too close to Lupa, as if they feared her, or really respected her.

Percy could imagine why if the she-wolf was always that…bossy, like she had been with him. It was silent, but some of them were whispering to each other, but he couldn't understand.

Feeling really uncomfortable with all the staring, Percy immediately slipped off Lupa's back and raised a hand to wave hi. _That wasn't a good plan_, he noted to himself. They all looked at him funny like he was some sort of animal or something, and the girl with brown hair and – as he noticed now – brown, angry eyes stepped forward. She broke the silence.

Her eyes glared at Percy, and he noticed her athletically build body that seemed tough and muscular but somehow slim and acrobatic at the same time. He had to admit that she was pretty. But there was something more to her, like that look in her eyes, as if she was prepared to raise those two sharp swords to his throat at a split second's need.

"Lupa…who _is _this? "

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**SO! What do you think? Yeah, I know, Cliffhanger. I just like to keep up the tension :D Please review! :)**


	5. What friends are for

_March, 4th 2011_

**_Disclaimer:_ Rick Riordan owns all the characters!**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**_A/N: _**_Gosh, sorryyyy T_T I didn't mean to make such a long pause hehe xP But as I said before, I'm pretty busy with university stuff and as it seems, Carter Lee Grace is busy with school. So we two together are SUPER busy XD_

_ I hope you enjoy it and I at least get some feedback! Because if I don't get it, I don't know if I'll continue at all D: _

_**Tell me what you think! Not that difficult, right? ;P**  
_

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**_Chapter V_**

**Annabeth**

The sun was already near the horizon, illuminating the empty beach with red and orange light. Still sitting in the cold sand, tears fell slowly down Annabeth's cheeks, but as the footsteps approached her, she looked up, surprised to see the person walking towards her.

"T-Thalia… when did you get here?" she finally whispered, a small smile managing to appear on her face. The blonde hadn't seen her close friend in person for a long time, only a few Iris messages, which were mostly about Percy's disappearance. The daughter of Zeus kneeled down in the sand next to her "little sister," her eyes becoming warmer at the sight of the not-so-little daughter of Athena.

Annabeth now noticed Piper walking over behind Thalia. Piper had brought Annabeth's jacket from the Big House, placing it over the blonde girl's shoulders. Annabeth thanked her immediately, and the brown-haired girl smiled cheerfully back. Thalia drove her fingers through the sand and lifted her eyes to answer.

"Oh, maybe two minutes ago? I happened to stumble in right after you left." Thalia's electric blue eyes fixed on her best friend. Tilting her head, she continued, "Don't take Jason so seriously, I'm sure he didn't mean it that way."

"Yeah, I mean, he couldn't have known how you feel about ships at the moment, right? I didn't know that either," Piper added to Thalia's words, resting a comforting arm around Annabeth.

A blush crept up on the daughter of Athena, slightly embarrassed at being comforted like a little girl. She sighed and shook her head. "No…I know that already. That's not why I ran off…" She pressed her lips together, her forehead returning to her knees again, hiding the tears that threatened to pour out of her eyes. She didn't want them to see her crying, but on the other hand…Annabeth really wanted to talk to someone about this.

Suddenly, she was pulled to the right, finding herself inside Thalia's embrace, pressed into the Green Day Shirt beneath the Hunter's silvery shining jacket. Annabeth was taken aback by the hug. Thalia wasn't exactly the hugging type. But right now, Thalia knew that the daughter of Athena really needed it. After all, the gods had really messed with Annabeth and her feelings – no, actually just one "special" goddess, Thalia thought bitterly.

"I know…sorry I couldn't come here sooner. We searched for him everywhere. I thought we were close when we reached San Francisco…but…nothing." She hugged Annabeth a little tighter, and the 16 year old girl was reminded of all those years ago, back when she was only seven, on the run with Luke and Thalia. They had always looked out for her…but now, as a Hunter, Thalia would never look older than fifteen. Annabeth was already taller than the daughter of Zeus, but Thalia would always be her big sister. The silvery glow of Thalia's jacket warmed her heart a little, easing the pain that filled her like thousands of knives cutting her skin.

Ever since Percy disappeared, she was holding herself together, acting tough and trying to find him, leading the camp for him as best as she could. But she just couldn't do it like him. Percy was just the perfect leader, even if he would never call himself that. He could convince his to follow him, giving them passion in a fight and all that, without charmspeak or anything. The son of Poseidon didn't need that. It was his spirit that inspired everyone. Nobody ever denied that he was the one everyone looked up to, the head of the camp. It was a hard job, which she hadn't actually realized until she had to take his place. She couldn't sob and scream about all the craziness going on, even if she really needed to, because she was now the one everybody was relying on. So, for the sake of the camp, she kept quiet until she was in her bed at night.

Annabeth knew that her half-siblings had to know about her restlessness at night, how she rarely slept, but thankfully none of them mentioned anything about it. Percy had never suffered this way; for him, being the leader wasn't even a hard job at all. Maybe it came naturally to him, because he was a son of one of the Big Three… But right now, Annabeth just _had_ to tell the two girls sitting next to her. After all, Thalia was her best –female– friend, and Piper would understand. The daughter of Aphrodite's situation was similar; Jason might have a girlfriend back at the Roman camp, even though he didn't remember her.

Finally, Annabeth spoke, her voice cracking slightly. " Thalia, it's just…everything…this is so unfair! Hera hates me…I mean, I could live through all those stupid cows, but Percy? That's just… too far. I…I miss him. A lot." Her hand sank into Thalia's clothes, fists clenched, her grey eyes squeezed shut.

"Well, it's _Hera_. That woman is horrible. She said there's a huge, important reason for this, but I get the feeling that she also wants to punish us for still being alive." Thalia's voice was dark and bitter, her gaze resting on the horizon, a cold expression on her face.

Thunder rumbled in the sky and Thalia lifted her head, extremely, well, pissed off. "WHAT? Wanna throw some lightning at me, Hera? Do it, and I'll just send it right back at you! Explain why you had to erase their memories, which was just plain STUPID! And just give it back to them already!" Her stormy blue eyes narrowed to enraged slits, and she gripped Annabeth's upper arms tightly, electricity crackling around, causing Annabeth to cringe a bit. The daughter of Zeus didn't like the idea of Percy being in that other camp either. First Luke and now him… Okay, so Thalia and Percy had their arguments, but all in all he really was a good person. And of course, Hera had to mess everything up. The Second Titan War had ended, the two lovebirds finally confessed to each other, and that bigheaded goddess had to send Percy away without asking anybody for an opinion. Certainly not even her own husband, or Poseidon, Percy's _father_.

Plus, she couldn't forget that whole thing about Jason. Her own brother had been taken away by the "queen" goddess when he was two. Thalia hadn't even known if he was _alive_. Things could have turned out so differently…but if she didn't run away back then, she never would've met Annabeth and Luke either…

The thunder calmed down after a few seconds, and Thalia relaxed a little, turning her attention back to the daughter of Athena. Now that Annabeth had started talking about Percy, it was as if she couldn't stop, and continued to spit out all her worries. "What if he doesn't remember me? What if he isn't accepted and sent away? Without his memory, how could he survive? Maybe Gaea got him, what if she convinces him to join her? A-and what…" She had to stop and find her voice again, because she couldn't get that sentence out. It was so painful to think it, but saying it out loud would sort of make it official, somehow: _ What if he's found someone else? What if he doesn't like me anymore? _The tears kept falling, soaking Thalia's shirt.

The two other girls exchanged glances. They'd already figured out what Annabeth was too scared to say. They'd even talked about it while walking here. But all Annabeth wanted were some comforting words. She didn't get any during these last few days. No one would dare to talk to her about Percy – if they did, it's quite possible that her glares actually could kill. Of course, she'd talked to Sally about it, and Grover as well…but that was kinda different, since he could sense her feelings. And sometimes, Annabeth was pretty sure that Percy's mom possessed the same ability as the satyr.

The daughter of Athena remained quiet, and Piper spoke up. "I don't think anything bad is going to happen to him. From what I figured out, they won't abandon him if he's strong, and from what I heard from all of you, he is. And anyways, Jason was still able to fight like nothing happened, remember?" Thalia nodded in agreement.

" Yeah, he can take care of himself, and you know that. Percy is strong…even if I don't like to admit that. I mean, he always picked fights with me." The Hunter grinned, and Annabeth almost laughed, just a little, at Thalia's words.

The daughter of Zeus kept talking. "Plus, he definitely likes you a lot, and he has for years, even if he was too dense to realize it. I'm pretty sure something will still be there in his heart, subconsciously. You two are…well...'perfect' for each other, I suppose, and he couldn't just...forget that. Jason did remember me, right? Maybe Hera left him a hint on you as well." To be honest, Thalia didn't believe that last thing she said. Hera hated Annabeth still –well, she seemed to hate every demigod except Jason– so she'd probably enjoy ruining Annabeth's life by letting Percy forget everything, including his girlfriend. That's just how Hera was, and Annabeth knew it too. But right now, these words were reassuring, although they were practically an impossible reality. Even so, the lieutenant of Artemis continued.

"Besides, Percy would never fall for Gaea's tricks. You know his fatal flaw: he refused _immortality_ for his friends. And that's something, considering immortality is pretty awesome. I don't think he'd act like such an idiot, even with his memory gone."

Piper hadn't been aware of this. He refused immortality? Okay, she really needed to learn more about this camp's past, and especially about Percy. Annabeth just nodded slightly in return to what Thalia said. But that one big issue still loomed over her…

"But what if a girl there falls for him? You know, he's not bad looking, what if…I come there and he's holding hands with someone else? That'd be a living nightmare!" Annabeth spit out the words, frantic and clearly extremely concerned over this matter. Thalia, on the other hand, started laughing loudly.

Both Annabeth and Piper looked at her, puzzled, until the Hunter finally stopped laughing and explained it. " Oh come on, you've got nothing to worry about. You know what an idiot Percy is when it comes to girls. I mean, he needed four years to get it right with you the first time around, and I'm sure we'll get there before something like that manages to pass through his thick skull." A short, surprised silence was the only response, but then Annabeth _giggled_. That's not something that happens very often, and it was definitely unexpected at a time like this.

"Yeah, you're probably right. We should just concentrate on getting to the Roman camp quickly. I'm just being abnormally lame." Annabeth released herself from Thalia's hug, and the daughter of Zeus smiled. So she was back to her usual self.

However, unlike Thalia's raised spirits, Piper shook her head. "No…that's not lame, I understand your feelings. Just the thought of losing Jason to someone else hurts." She sighed, running her hands through her chocolate brown hair.

Thalia stood up and stretched her muscles. "And that's why I'm done with boys. They're too aggravating," she said, holding out a hand to help Annabeth up. But to Thalia's surprise, the blonde girl didn't take it. Her stormy grey eyes, still kind of red from crying, stared at the Hunter, a slightly annoyed and insulted look on her face. Thalia sighed, realizing her mistake.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. I know Percy isn't like the other boys, it's not his fault Hera kidnapped him, and he would never do something to hurt you on purpose. Now get up already." She rolled her eyes, her voice sarcastic and almost harsh, but Annabeth grinned, grabbing Thalia's hand and standing up.

Piper laughed slightly about their little argument and stepped up as well. "So, what now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in question. Even that looked pretty on her. In the short time she'd known the girl, Annabeth was kind of jealous of her simple beauty. She managed to pull it all off without any makeup, which is definitely unusual with Aphrodite's daughters. Most of them tried to be pretty and perfect with their makeup and clothes, Annabeth was NOT a fan of any of those things.

Plus, most of them were kind of on the slow side, but Piper certainly wasn't. She really was the only Aphrodite kid Annabeth could ever be friends with. So the daughter of Athena smiled and pointed in the direction of the cabins, filled with new drive.

" Well, Piper, we've got some Iris-messaging to do."

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**Soooo...as always: _REVIEW! _ And thanks for being so patient :3**


	6. Cabin 3

_March 30th 2011_

_**Disclaimer:**_** Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_

_**A/N:**__Hey, guys and girls :D _

_The month is almost over, so as I promised, here's a new chapter! I hope you forgive me for the long wait though xP I got several beta-problems but that's nothing to be discussed here ^^_

_Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter. Ya know, it's pretty short and all. But atm it's the only thing I can offer because the next chapter is SO long that my beta will take some time to read it. Look forward to it, it's a peak into the mind of a Roman soldier, really interesting 8D_

**Pleeeeeeeeese review. Look at the numbers! I got 6 chapters now but only 26 reviews ._. You'll really help me with a little critique or by just saying "I like it! Please update soon". That always warms my heart and keeps me writing faster. So if you want faster upload, just drop a short review! :)**

**Thank you ^_-**

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**_Chapter VI_  
**

**Piper  
**

"Iris messaging? You have that possibility here?"Piper asked, confused over what Annabeth was talking about. The blonde warrior just laughed when she spotted Piper's puzzled expression, waving her hand to dismiss the other questions the daughter of Aphrodite had swirling around in her brain.

"Oh , sorry. You haven't seen our fountain before, right? The look on your face reminded me of Percy's first-" she cut off abruptly as she realized her mistake, pressing her lips together. Despite the worry that had just flashed through her piercing grey eyes, Annabeth continued her sort-of explanation, pretending her unfinished sentence never existed.

"Anyway, just come with us." Piper followed Annabeth and Thalia off the beach, the sky a blue-black color. Darkness shrouded the rest of the camp as well, and Piper wondered why they still hadn't eaten dinner yet. Oh yeah, today was the shortest day of the year, so it was normal that night had fallen so quickly. How could she forget that? Probably because of all the chaos.

Unfortunately, that trouble still wasn't over, though they had managed to return safely. Her second quest lingered in the near future, one even more dangerous than the previous one. Seriously, the first was already, like, impossible, but now? The chance of her somehow magically talking Gaia into falling asleep again completely was pretty much zero. The thought scared the daughter of Aphrodite, and Piper tried to calm herself. After all, this time Annabeth and Thalia would be with them, and Jason would also be there with her. The two girls knew a lot about this kind of stuff, and Jason did too, even if he wasn't consciously aware of it.

Plus, Annabeth said she'd call some friends for more help, and that Leo would also join them, if they managed to find a substitute for him to help build _Argo II_. Did Annabeth really know another person that talented with machines? Maybe an older son of Hephaestus? Honestly, Piper really wanted some answers to her questions. At least that way, she'd actually know what was happening, instead of being completely useless.

The daughter of Aphrodite was very aware that her fighting needed a lot of improvement, and no matter how many times everyone else complimented her, she didn't like her charmspeaking powers. To have absolute power over a person for a few moments sounds cool in theory, but seeing someone fall under your control with no way to fight back? It's kind of terrifying to know you can do that. Besides, the main reason she wanted to go was to be with Jason and to find out if… if he really had a girlfriend in this "Castra Roma" he had been in since he was 2 years old. And Annabeth was in the same situation, except she filled the role of the forgotten girlfriend. How was this fair? Did Hera or Juno or whoever even think about the damage she would cause by sending Jason and Percy away from their home?

The three girls turned to walk in the direction of the cabins, their footsteps crunching slightly over the thin layer of snow. When they came closer, Annabeth seemed to head for one of the bigger cabins, and Thalia stopped, holding the daughter of Athena back as well. "Wait… you're not seriously thinking of…I thought we'd use the Iris cabin?" The daughter of Zeus stared at her friend as she questioned her, like she was wondering if Annabeth's brain had been badly affected by the cold winter air.

But Annabeth just kept walking on the same path. "Nope. I'm not going to bother Butch like this." It was only then that Piper noticed how puffy and red Annabeth's eyes still were. She realized that being seen like this would be incredibly embarrassing for the daughter of Athena. Annabeth had a reputation to maintain, as the one everyone looked up to, and she really needed to keep it that way. Piper knew enough about the blonde girl to say that pity from all of the campers would be the last thing Annabeth wanted. The daughter of Athena walked closer to the cabin, which Piper now recognized as the one next to where Jason slept. With its green and blue decorations, Piper had a pretty good idea of whose children resided here.

"Poseidon?" she guessed as they reached the veranda.

"Yeah," Annabeth mumbled as a response, and now voices came from the main house. Seemed like the meeting finally was over…and she had missed the rest of it. Great. She wondered if Jason would tell her what the final decision had been…or would she have to ask Leo instead? While Piper was lost in her thoughts, Thalia stepped forward, stopping Annabeth's hand, which had grabbed the door handle. The daughter of Zeus gripped Annabeth's wrist, and unless Piper was imagining things, electricity sparked from Thalia's fingers. It couldn't have been the most comfortable position for the daughter of Athena, but the two friends stared each other down.

"We can't just _go in_. Don't act like such an idiot, because I know you're not." Thalia tried to keep her back, but Annabeth didn't seem to care, shaking out of her friend's grasp.

"But I _have_ to, Thalia. I came out of Hera's cabin alive, and she hates me a lot more than Poseidon does. Anyways, since when do you play by the rules?" The two girls continued their argument silently, as Piper watched with interest and a bit of impatience.

"So, what are you guys doing?" a familiar voice asked from behind them. All three girls turned in surprise, only to see Jason, curious of their intentions. He walked towards them, eyebrows raised, awaiting his answer. Even with that look on his face, Piper had to admit he was really cute. Annabeth let go of the door handle, dropping her head a little.

"I was about to Iris message a few friends of mine. Poseidon placed a fountain in this cabin and I don't want to…bother the Iris campers right now." She turned away a little, and Piper assumed that she was uncomfortable with Jason seeing her red eyes. The boy either tactfully didn't bring up the fact or didn't notice at all, and nodded slowly.

"Iris messaging...I always wondered, is that kind of communication related to the mercury-gadget or something?"

He noticed all of them staring at him, and the sudden attention made him falter a little.

"I-I just remember that there were things like that at our camp...it had something to do with the children of Mercury, but don't ask me what, because that's all I know."

Thalia smiled a little at her younger brother. "Getting some memory back? That's great! So Romans don't have a goddess like Iris?"

"No, they don't…I guess," muttered the son of Jupiter.

"Well, I guess we should show you how things are done here." Annabeth said, still looking away from Jason, but clearly stifling a small laugh at the amusing conversation. She reached out for the door handle again and pulled it. Nothing happened. Frustrated, Annabeth cursed in ancient Greek. Was it locked? But why would it be?

"Poseidon, please, I'm just trying to help Percy," Annabeth whispered quietly, seemingly to no one, but Piper overheard her. Suddenly, the door broke open on its own, a crashing wave ringing in their ears. Annabeth stumbled backwards a few steps, nearly knocking over Thalia as well.

"I-is it always like that?" Jason asked and stared at the doorway, puzzled.

"Yeah ," Annabeth responded, regaining balance at the very last moment. She stopped, as if she going to say more, but shook her head and walked in. The three other half bloods glanced at her, then at each other, before finally following the daughter of Athena, but with more hesitation.

With her first step inside, Piper had to stop and take everything in. The inside of this cabin was so much different from of the others she had seen. Okay, so she's only seen of Hera's, Aphrodite's, and Bunker Nine, if that counted, but this was amazing. She felt like she'd walked into the ocean without getting wet, the blue-green walls shimmering, reminiscent of the sea floor. Not that Piper had been there, but she imagined it to look like something similar to this. Six empty bunk beds lined up near the walls, and one of them looked like it had been used more than the others, but still abandoned. It was that bed Annabeth glanced at, a sad, fleeting expression in her eyes, before she made her way to the windows in the back.

She opened them, allowing the tiny bit of light left in the sky to illuminate the grey fountain in the middle of the cabin. It was decorated with a variety of shells, the sound of the flowing water echoing around the room. The smell of the ocean filled the space as well, the salty tinge of it reminding Piper of her favorite beach: the one she went to with her father on those few days they could spend together. It figures, she thought to herself, Poseidon would have a saltwater fountain in his cabin. Remember not to drink out of that thing… They all stepped closer to it while Annabeth put her hand into the water, pulling out a golden coin and holding it between her hands.

"You sure it'll even work without Butch? I mean, the gods are all closed up in Olympus, right?" Thalia raised her eyebrows in interrogation. The last sliver of sunlight shone through the window, over the ocean, hitting the water of the fountain forming a little rainbow.

"I'm sure. You talked to Artemis, right?" Annabeth asked the lieutenant.

Thalia nodded slowly, and then answered. "But that's kind of different, since it's her duty to guide her Hunters. We have to keep the dangerous monsters under control, even if our goddess is absent." But instead of taking the hint, Annabeth nodded, practically ignoring the warning in the comment, and looked at the coin in her hand.

"That's why I think there's no problem. It's Iris' job to deliver these messages, and all the gods still do their normal duties, right? The sea doesn't stand still, there's still weather out there, and most importantly, they're still claiming their children. Even if Zeus tells them not to interfere with us, they can't just stop taking care of the world." The blonde girl seemed positive in her conclusion, and the other two knew enough not to argue against a daughter of Athena, especially this one.

And with that, she threw the coin into the rainbow, and to Piper's surprise, it vanished.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering." She folded her hands as if praying and closed her piercing grey eyes. For some reason, Annabeth seemed very nervous.

Piper wondered why this seemed so different from what Medea had done. The seer had thrown In some jewelry and almost ordered the goddess to show her Jane. Annabeth sounded more like she was praying, more respectful. There was a lot to learn about this Greek world, and the daughter of Aphrodite sighed in frustration, considering she probably didn't understand half of everything going on around here.

But Piper's thoughts returned to the present as an image flickered into view inside the rainbow.

* * *

**_A/N: _****Thanks for reading this far, please drop a review if you liked it! And if you didn't you could tell me why D: I'd try to fix it ^^ THANKS! ****8D**


	7. Reyna

_April 13th 2011_

_**All characters belong to Rick Riordan. Reyna's character now belongs to me :D**_

**Beta for this Chapter:** _Carter Lee Grace**  
**_

_**A/N: **Why hello, folks! I really hope you like that chapter. Entering Castra Roma now! I tried to make it so it wouldn't be a boring entrance and you're not disappointed for the long wait...I hope I succeeded :D Again, thanks to my two betas! They're working hard on the next chapters though they have much work going on :) I'm very grateful for this ^^ _

_So, enjoy! Besides, a small note: I know very well that I tend to switch perspectives during writing. But in my opinion, a few things have to be said from another opinion than just one and adding it in another chapter would appear weird. So if I switch perspectives, just take it as an omniscient narrator and pretend that the name written at the top is just an orientation. It's just my kind of writing style and I like it that way x_x_

_Anyway, ENJOY! _

_**And PLEASE, REVIEEEEEEEEEW! I really need it D: Do me the favour *cries tears of bitterness* **_

* * *

_**Chapter VII**_

**Reyna**

The sky over San Francisco was stormy when Reyna woke from that fuzzy dream, sweat beaded on her forehead and soaking her brown shining hair. Again, the night when it happened. Again, the desperation of this loss filled her head. The girl sighed and lifted her hands so she could cover her face. The whole tent was dark and far too quiet. Normally, her siblings weren't that quiet, even at night. But something changed three days ago. Something that changed the whole Castra Roma.

He disappeared…their leader, first in command, whatever you call it. Reyna remembered every detail of that night, and it always caught her in her dreams, even though she didn't show it after daybreak. She always told herself that if she was careful and remembered details, she might find a clue to get him back, find a clue to search for him. Like a detective or something. Of course that wasn't the case…she was a lousy detective. She was a _fighter_, and everyone knew that. After all, Reyna took after her father a lot.

However, right at this moment, she let the memory pass through her head again, trying to get a hold of the last things she knew about these mysterious events. It was a stormy night just like this one. The whole Castra had made preparations for the storm coming up and of course, Jason was right in the middle of it. He was experienced, having been here for 12 or even 13 years. He knew the winds, could even control them. Why wouldn't he lead the preparations to keep them from destroying the Castra? A lot of the time, the stormy weather calmed down before it reached the shores of their camp. Whether it was because of Jason or their mist defenses, nobody really knew, but it didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things. This night though, they all felt something was…different about it. And when they finished putting up tarps and stabilizing their tents, as Jason was about to go in his tent, a light came from it, blinding them all.

The entirety of the blue-yellow tent glowed with a pure white flash, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. As suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished again. All campers saw it, even the ones that had already been inside their beds. All the teenagers and younger kids, all the young demigods with armor or just their purple shirts on, absolutely everybody in the Castra witnessed it. They ran to Jason's tent, to see if maybe the tent had just hit by lightning –which would've been deadly for anyone but Jason- but no such luck. Reyna was the first to march inside the tent, since she had wished him good night just a minute ago, finding that it was completely empty. Not only was Jason gone, but his weapon was nowhere to be found. And the bed was well made.

Everything appeared as if he never existed. But he did. And they all knew that. The only things that remained were the photos on the wall above his bed, images of Jason with his friends, the people he got to know during his time here, the people who joined him in his accomplishments and shared his secrets. One of them had even died…all of that was left here. If Jason had left out of his own free will, he would NEVER have left the photos, and Reyna was sure of that. Jason had been…_No, don't think of him in the past tense!_– Jason was their leader, yeah. As they called him here, he was first in command of the first legion, son of the sky, of Jupiter. She, daughter of war, Mars, was second in command. Other campers often called them the "dream team" or "the perfect couple" just to tease them. Jason, for the most part, wasn't really affected by that, laughing along with them. On the other hand, Reyna always got mad and beat them up. She was strong, after all, and in this camp, the strongest survived. Lupa always told them that. Nobody would harm her because she showed her superiority.

Oh gods, why was she in such a mood lately? Her sentences were short, she didn't talk much at all, and this whole thing about Jason just pulled her down. Where was her fighting spirit? It wasn't like she loved him or anything. Just…just the fact that someone could take him, him of all demigods, him, her best friend and partner on missions for all time …it was natural that she wasn't cool about that, right? So now, she lifted her head from the pillow, sat up and grabbed her swords: two short blades, double swords. She really liked fighting with them, though she was also experienced with other weapons. The long and heavy swords seemed to glow golden in the darkness, as if they were aware of the danger that Reyna was about to get into. She couldn't get caught, or else her punishment would be a big deal. This wasn't the first time after all. She and her friends had already sneaked out twice and tried to ignore Lupa's orders. Reyna wondered why the goddess hadn't attacked them yet…the she-wolf did that sometimes when somebody dared to disobey her. Fortunately, that didn't happen very often.

As quickly and as quietly as she could, Reyna now put on her clothes and left the cabin. There had to be a way…even if Lupa told them it was useless. Perhaps if she tried it alone…all the lights were out, and one could barely see the edges of the tents and the main house, which were only a few hundred feet away. The brunette warrior was good at sneaking around, and she played to her full potential as she crept around the red tent she just came from and got behind it without being noticed by the patrols. There were no barriers to protect the camp; no solid walls protected the legion, or something that you would expect from a Roman architect. All went well with the thick mist layered over the Castra and the traps set up in the woods. Plus, it was like the forest could just confuse people on its own, even without the help of the mist.

The young demigod swore that when she went there once, the trees changed their appearance and it seemed like she had been there before. If a mortal somehow got lost in this forest and didn't meet a camper by coincidence, he was definitely dead meat. Reyna, like the other campers, was used to the Mist, especially in the woods, where the mist was practically overwhelming. It was good training for when they went outside San Francisco; their eyes were sharper and their actions even more accurate than they already were at camp.

Climbing up the steep slope, Reyna carefully avoided the other demigods roaming around the Castra. This was just a precaution. Lately, the monsters were everywhere. They didn't even vanish normally; they seemed to reform immediately. That's why Lupa ordered them to make patrols at night and they even had an extra horn for monster attacks. Never had this happened before; even during the Titan war, it hadn't gotten this serious. As Reyna reached the trees, the beginning of the wild forest, she exhaled a tense breath she didn't know she'd been holding in. Now nobody could spot her. Maybe she could run away and start searching for Jason… Suddenly, a low growl reached her ears, the sound coming from only a few feet away. Her hazelnut brown eyes widened in shock as she fell to her feet, suppressing a scream.

Behind her, a wolf came out of the forest, and it didn't look friendly. It was big and scary, its eyes glowing silver. It bared a set of sharp, pointy teeth, as if it was ready to jump at the young warrior. That was one of Lupa's…_oh shit, don't tell me –_

"Of course it is you, Reyna. I appreciate your strength and I understand your desperation about the incident…" the deep but beautiful voice of the she-wolf rang in Reyna's ears. The demigod bowed her head, kneeling before the goddess as if begging for mercy, which she pretty much was. "But I can't allow you to leave, at least not for this purpose. Not now. The time will come; you all have to trust the gods a little more. Diente, bring her back to her tent. She will be receiving her punishment tomorrow."

The goddess stepped into the dim light, turned around, and simply vanished. Reyna bit her lip. Lupa had been extremely angry…her voice had given away that much. That wasn't good, not good at all. What if she was forced to do _that_ again? She barely survived the last time! How did the wolves _always_ know where she was? Shit, she needed a nose like that, that wasn't fair! Man, why her? The wolf grabbed Reyna by the neck as if she was a pup and swung her over his back. It hurts a lot when they do that, but she really felt like she deserved it. If you get caught, prepare for the punishment. It's the same with monsters. They won't treat you lightly just because you sneak around the wrong corner, or because they pity you for not having a nose as good as them. Monsters weren't like that.

So after all, she ended up in her bed again, thoroughly pissing off everyone else in her cabin with the noise of the wolf coming in.

* * *

"Curse this! Why can't we look for him? I was so close, and now this! Is she mocking me or something?" Reyna was a nervous wreck when she arrived at the breakfast table.

"Please, calm down, Reyna. You know she can hear you!" her half-sister whispered beside her. Her body was muscular and rather manly as well as her face. In fact, she was a year older than Reyna. But since Reyna was stronger, that made the younger girl the leader of the tent. And unfortunately, because Jason was…gone at the moment, that made her in charge of the entire camp too. Not really helping her mood.

Reyna dropped her head on the table, narrowly missing a faceplant into her plate with all the healthy food on it. Another thing that annoyed her: no hamburgers. But she didn't show it, always playing the good and disciplined girl, being all strong and tough. But right now

, she couldn't stand it anymore. Yesterday night had been absolutely humiliating. After she came back, Reyna oh-so-joyously discovered that it was almost time to wake up for the daily monitoring of order and cleanliness. A bunch of Venus kids were on duty and of course, they had to see that Reyna threw her clothing all over the place because she was in such a hurry at night. And of course, her tent got last place, giving her half-siblings yet another reason to glare at her.

Sighing and then recomposing herself, she sat up straight, grabbed her fork and rammed it into her toast, causing the plate to rattle with an annoying high-pitched noise, startling her siblings. "I know," Reyna answered, "Now shut up and eat already." With an empty expression, she swallowed the last bit of her food and stood up abruptly, marching of the dining hall. The marble walls stretched impossibly high towards the ceiling, fancy and decorated with pillars. Every tent had a table in this hall, all made out of marble as well. Reyna finally dared to glance at the end of the long, stretched hall where Lupa sat with two other wolves at her side. Lupa stared back, and the brunette quickly looked away again, certain that the golden eyes were glaring holes into her clothes.

With still no emotion shown in her pretty face, the daughter of Mars returned to her tent, picking up a golden armlet from the table. She had to smile a little when she put it on; training today should be fun. Now that the magic weapon she wished for was finally finished, she didn't have to carry the swords around normally anymore. Reyna was very skilled with all kind of weapons; they bowed to her will completely.

So she went off with her magically enhanced swords and trained, alone –again. Her friends must be a little worried because of her absence lately. After an hour or so, she decided to go find her friends. Changing her sweater inside the tent, she was immersed in her thoughts again. What would Lupa do to punish her? Would it be harsh? Would her training have prepared her for it?

No, probably not.

Lupa always knew how to surprise her. The first big test was proof of that; she hadn't expected such a simple task. Please, the choice between dying from jumping into water from that high –and with that, running away from danger- or dying by fighting? Of course she'd fight! Dying during the fight is the most honorable thing to do, in her opinion. Yeah, back then she didn't know about her father yet, but that opinion must've been in her head all the time, because she faced the wolves head on. At least, she had fought viciously until she noticed that Lupa had just fooled her with some illusions. Mostly, she remembered being extraordinarily aggravated. Some pretty trick had almost scared her to death. She hadn't talked to Lupa for three weeks after that incident. Jason had been the one to calm the stubborn girl down.

* * *

"_Come on," he had said, "She cared, after all. Imagine she didn't put an illusion, and I would've jumped! What would've happened then? She's just not showing how caring she is to keep the discipline."_

_Angry little Reyna eased the grip on the bow she held and stared at the boy next to her, surprised. "_You _jumped? Really? Didn't you feel like a coward?" _

_But the blond boy just grinned. "Nope. I felt free…like jumping was the best way out of that situation. Maybe I could have been able to hold the wolves off for some time, but somehow that came to me…" he shrugged and continued shooting, always hitting the target._

* * *

Oh yeah. Sweet memories. They'd been, like, 10 back then, and it was right before Jason found out he could fly. Oh, the irony…

Lost in her thoughts, Reyna left the tent, her swords still in both hands and her armor over the purple sweater. Now the camp was full of the other campers marching around, all on their way to the activities they had to attend to after breakfast. Only then did she notice how the other campers seemed to be…staring at something. As she walked out of her red tent, number five, she followed the pointing fingers of some Mercury kids standing nearby.

Gods, what…was that Lupa? And she was carrying…_she _was carrying a…a boy! As far as Reyna remembered, the last time that Lupa herself carried someone was when she brought Jason down the hill, and a lot of people believed that it might have just been a rumor. Jason had been three years old or so, though, already living with the wolves for one year before that. The boy on Lupa's back now, Reyna noticed as soon as the she-wolf came closer, was like 16 or older. How the hell could he have survived until this age? Stopping in her tracks, Reyna stared at him, intent on figuring out what was going on.

His black hair was a little messy and yet somehow attractive, perhaps, hanging over his ears and a little bit into his face. A grey streak disturbed the illusion of its jet-black appearance a bit; how could he have one at such a young age? Though it seemed to fit, and his overall appearance was flawless, with no wounds despite his age. But still, Reyna could feel that he had seen... a lot of things kids normally don't see. Things only experienced demigods had seen.

But then why hadn't she seen him until now? If he'd known he was a demigod, how could he have survived without the camp? He looked well trained; muscles were to be spotted very clearly on his arms and legs. The boy, or rather, young man, already wore the purple camp sweater, and it stretched over his chest a little bit. His very normal blue jeans were covered by Lupa's glowing fur. The goddess stopped right in front of Reyna, and the girl noticed his sea green eyes staring right back at her with an expression that she really didn't expect: total confusion and curiosity. It just didn't fit with his trained body and serious, strong appearance.

This expression ruined everything Reyna could've imagined about this guy. He seemed like an older and black haired Jason, a _real hero_ appearing out of nowhere, and then this...face! And he greeted them…with a wave of his hand? What _was_ that? This guy just got off of Lupa's back, and casually waves at them? This was a _military camp. _ It made no sense to Reyna how he could stand here, acting all "cool" yet still seeming uncomfortable.

"Lupa…who _is _this?" she finally stammered, not noticing all the other campers that had gathered around the she-wolf and the boy, whom had already reached the ground again after the crowd arrived, looking uneasy.

From all around, constant whispers of Latin floated through every conversation behind her. It suddenly came to a stop when Lupa uttered a scary and dominant bark. They all winced and the sudden silence was overwhelming. The new one next to the goddess looked especially shocked and rubbed his ears in discomfort.

"This is Percy Jackson, and he is a new camper, nothing more and nothing less. Reyna, show him around, give him his supplies and explain everything. Everyone else, dismissed." As always when the she-wolf talked to her "pups", her tone was rigid and harsh, making it almost impossible to disobey. You just knew that not listening meant trouble, and it was very difficult not to move to her will immediately. If she was a child of Venus, she would be the most powerful charmspeaker ever to live.

Percy just stood there, looking amazed as all the watchers and demigods suddenly disappeared. The only one with him now was Reyna, seeing that Lupa vanished into midair.

"I- is it always like that?" he asked, obviously astonished and bewildered. The brunette warrior couldn't help but smile a little, amused by his expression.

"Yeah, kinda. Now come on, I'm giving you the introduction." Even though she acted as if this was normal, thousands of questions bubbled in her mind, urging her mouth to start rapid firing interrogations at the boy. But he looked completely confused, and so Reyna decided it would be best to start from zero. As they walked farther into the light mist, passing all the tents, she put away her swords with a simple swing. To her amazement, Percy didn't react in the slightest to the fact that her swords just shrank and transformed into two golden, plain armlets, now encircling her arms.

He wasn't looking in her direction anyway. In fact, he didn't seem to focus on his surroundings, like an animal: either the hunter or the hunted. As they reached the end of the meadow where the tents were, Reyna pulled the new boy by the scuff of his neck with lightning fast speed and pressed him to a nearby tree. The golden knife in her hands quickly found its way to his throat, careful not to cut him, a keen glint in Reyna's eyes. He seemed too surprised to react, so Reyna simply glared at him. It might've looked weird to mortals, for all she knew, since she had to be at least a year younger than Percy. But at the Castra Roma, the only things that mattered were strength and experience.

And that was what Reyna was playing at now. He was new, and this was her territory. She had the power to ask him anything she wanted, and he _should_ give her the answers.

"So…who are you really? Where are you from? How did you survive so long without a single scar?" With that, her grip tightened on his shirt, the blade of her knife pressing against his neck.

* * *

_**Again, REVIEW REMINDER AT THE BOTTOM! 8D Thanks for reading this far :)**_


	8. Reactions

_April 22th 2011_

_**All Characters belong to Rick Riordan!**_

**Beta for this Chapter:**_ Carter Lee Grace**  
**_

_**A/N: **Hello there, guys and girls! ^^_

_Sorry for the late update but I seem to have some difficulty with my betas again. Apparently, we got the next chapters finished but every second not so I have to wait until the next is finished. My two (!) beta have stress at the moment so they are not very fast with reading. I don't blame them though, everyone has a real life after all and we can't live with just reading and correcting stories, right?_

_So! Here's the next chapter. This would normally be Chapter 9 and Chapter 8 would be something about Percy but since I don't get chapter 8 in now 2 weeks or so, I decided to just upload 9 first and name it different. *sigh* _

_I really hope you like it anyway! It's a pretty boring chapter with little to no plot but I felt like writing out the I-M Annabeth does. And remember, the name above is just an orientation! ;P_

_**As always: PLEASE REVIEEEEEW! :)**_

* * *

_**Chapter VIII**_

**Jason**

As the fog moved before him, Jason blinked, confused, as two people on a sofa became visible in the mist. Looking closer, he saw it was a woman in the arms of a rather slim man. The woman's head hung down, obviously anxious and worried, and the man was trying to comfort her. The brunette hair of the woman was curly and flowing down her back, like water. Was this..?

Annabeth cleared her throat and stood up straight, facing the moving picture. "Sally? Paul? It's me, Annabeth." Jason could sense how nervous she was, attempting to wipe away any signs of tears, supposedly.

The woman in the mist reacted immediately when hearing Annabeth's voice, leaning forward and smiling. Still, the worry remained in her eyes, though neither her nor the man beside her seemed shocked at the image of Annabeth magically appearing in the house. Who were these people?

"Annabeth! Are you okay, dear?" Sally – was that what Annabeth had called her? - looked concerned, reaching out a hand as if to comfort the daughter of Athena. There was a short silence in which Annabeth closed her eyes, like she was searching for the right words to say. But before she could even open her mouth, Sally spoke up again, sadness filling her voice.

"He's in danger again, right?" Annabeth's eyes widened, taken aback at how Sally had known, but once again, Sally was faster. "I can still see your tears, dear. I don't know what it is this time, but I'm sure you'll be able to bring him home safe. You always do, and you know that I owe you for protecting him when he needs it. He can be so reckless sometimes." She chuckled, although it wasn't a wholehearted laugh, and though Annabeth's lips quivered, she nodded, smiling slightly in agreement.

Then, the demigod finally spoke. "Y-yeah, you're right. But this time it's not even his fault… Listen, Sally, this is even worse than everything we've done before…" And she rambled about the whole story, from what happened with Hera to the giants and Gaea. She introduced Jason and Piper, and he discovered that Sally was very friendly. When she heard about Jason being Thalia's brother, she smiled, commenting that they had similar eyes, and telling Thalia how happy she was for the daughter of Zeus. And when Sally mentioned that Jason and Piper were a sweet couple? Well, both demigods blushed, causing the others to laugh slightly at their embarrassment. Wow, Jason wished he had a mom as kind as Sally, who was so caring, though her son was missing. Percy was really lucky, with so many people concerned over his disappearance. Did Jason have people searching for him like this?

"He really knows how to get himself into trouble, huh. Have you contacted Grover and Tyson yet?" Sally questioned, though Jason had no idea who she was talking about.

But Annabeth seemed to understand and nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to I-M them now. Take care, I'll try to get him back in one piece...I promise." With that, they said goodbye, the image in the fog dissipating as they hung up.

It was then that Jason noticed that the sun had already set. Strangely, the rainbow remained intact…using the light of the moon, most likely. Now that was some practical communication.

His thoughts were interrupted as Piper started babbling aloud, the exact same things he had in his mind. "Wow, she's really nice! So that's Percy's mother? But who's the guy beside her? I mean, Poseidon is his father, right? And how can she be so calm?" Yeah, that really was a shocker.

But the blonde girl in front of the fountain just shook her head. "No...she's really not that calm. You know, Sally is a mortal with clear sight, like Rachel is. She knew about Percy's destiny long before he did, like how he would be an extremely powerful demigod. But now, he doesn't have his friends and the memory of his home behind him, and the situation is totally different. She's just doesn't want to show it for our sake; she's like a mother to me, and even to Thalia." Thalia nodded approvingly, and Annabeth continued.

"As for the man…that's Percy's step father, I believe. Sally really loved Poseidon, but it's difficult with gods, fortunately, she found Paul Blofis a few years ago. They married this spring." Piper nodded understandingly, smiling a little. Jason also managed a smile. Percy really had it all. Annabeth as a girlfriend, the whole camp worshipping him, Poseidon as a father, and a loving family at home. And this cabin was so much friendlier than his, although he would never admit that out loud, for the sake of his life. While Zeus' Cabin was all cold and unfriendly, this one was warmer, filled with a comforting breeze and stuffed with things that made it look like … a real home.

While Jason was lost in his thoughts again, Annabeth put her hands into the water, pulling out another golden drachma. "Next up is…" she murmured slowly to herself, thinking.

"Tyson, right?" a calm voice came from behind them, all the demigods jumping at the noise. Wait, when did she get there? Right behind Jason stood Rachel, staring at Annabeth and the coin. The blonde had almost dropped it, startled since she didn't hear Rachel's soundless steps either. Okay, note to self: Rachel was good at sneaking up on people.

"Y-yeah…Tyson's next." Annabeth finally managed, smiling back at Rachel before tossing in the coin, whispering her prayers. Immediately, the mist flickered again and this time, Jason practically jumped away from the fountain at the sight. He could've sworn that he was looking at something underwater, a "room" around the person in the center of the vision, but water still everywhere. As for the person he saw…could you call him a person? It was way too big to be considered a normal human, but still, his face resembled a child's. He wasn't looking in their direction though, staring at whatever he was doing at the table, obviously concentrating very hard. His tongue stood out and he was humming "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" to himself. At least, as far as Jason could tell…that guy wasn't really good at singing. Besides, was that only one eye on his forehead? It was hard to tell, it kept flickering.

"Tyson! Tyson, I'm over here!" With a small smile to herself, Annabeth waved at the Cyclops. Right after her voice sounded through the underwater room, Tyson jumped and whirled around, causing bubbles to form in the water around him. His face immediately cheered up, and he began racing toward her image.

"Annabeth! You found my brother, right? I searched everywhere, Annabeth. I couldn't find him underwater. And Daddy still isn't here yet, and the palace is busy trying to keep everything going without him…" After Annabeth stopped him from running into the Iris message and ruining it, his face fell, sad that he couldn't hug his friend. The demigod at the other side of the line smiled sadly and shook her head.

"No, Tyson…I'm sorry. We haven't found him yet, but I know where he is now. And it's not good news." She couldn't bear to look at him. Tyson was one of the ones most upset about Percy's disappearance, and she didn't have the heart to tell him that his beloved brother most likely didn't remember him at all. That was another reason why she didn't want him to come along. He was way too big, for one thing, and he'd probably attack Percy with a suffocating hug the second he saw his brother. The Romans would probably kill him…and that would be horrible.

Tyson seemed worried, but he smiled after listening to her words. " Don't worry, Annabeth! Percy is strong, we just have to go where he is and get him home! Then we beat up the bad guys and everything is normal again!" He grinned from one ear to another, causing his eye to sparkle a little more. It was surprising how positive he could be, although it was refreshing from all the anxiety.

Annabeth sighed; she had to tell him…even if it would hurt him. "Look, Tyson, you can't come with us. I don't think you could manage…" she explained everything to him, leaving out how so much of it would put Percy in danger…like what they knew about Lupa, and the discipline in the Roman camp.

After that speech, Tyson seemed extremely anxious. Annabeth tried to cheer him up as best she could. "But look, I've got another, equally important task for you! I thought that you could bring Briares, maybe a couple other Cyclopes to help us finish the Argo II. We need the ship next summer, and it'd be difficult for just us demigods to finish it that fast. The Hephaestus cabin is doing its best, but with your help…I just know we could do it. Would you do that for me, Tyson?" she smiled, and a smile widened again on the Cyclops's face.

"Oh yes, I'd love to!" Tyson exclaims, "I'm just forging swords down here. It's boring. But you have to give something to Percy from me if you see him, okay? And don't worry. I'm sure he will come back to us! Percy's a good brother _and _friend. Now bye, I need to tell the others!" And then he ran off, unaware that he cut right through their message.

Jason was more than a little confused now. How did Annabeth know a Cyclops? He recalled the three Cyclopes he, Piper, and Leo had met just a few days ago…at the thought, he shudders, particularly remembering how close they were to their death beds. When he asked, Rachel was the one to explain, because Annabeth was trying to find another drachma, seeing that the fountain had none to offer.

"He's Percy's half brother and a Cyclops, as you probably noticed. Some of them can be vicious, but Tyson is young, and grew up on the streets. He's kind, and really quite gentle. But they're great blacksmiths, and can forge some really powerful weapons, usually for the gods. Tyson is very talented, and that Briares they talked about is a Hundred-Handed One. The two of them make a great team." Jason just nodded in return.

You'd think that nothing would be more surprising than losing your memory, learning from a bunch of demigods that your daddy is the most powerful god, going on a quest and facing a lot of deadly monsters, nearly dying by seeing your step-mother transform into a god, and getting back just to learn that you have to go through another of these crazy adventures. In fact, you've even traveled like this in the past without remembering it in the slightest.

In retrospect, the stuff they did around here wasn't exactly "normal" either.

The five people stared into the water that shot out of the fountain. They had all sat down on one of the beds or on the floor, and the sight of them watching a rainbow as it blurred was pretty weird. As the image solidified again, there stood a young manwho, as Jason noticed, was a goat from the hip down. His brown, curly hair was decorated with two little horns, and he seemed to be sleeping very heavily, considering he was snoring between a bunch of fluffy sheep.

"A Faun..." Jason murmured, "Oh wait, satyr, right?" Piper nodded in return, a slight smile on her face.

"Hey, Grover…GROVER!" Annabeth tried to wake up the satyr, but it looked like he did not want to be woken up. Thalia, obviously not wanting to put up with this, let out a deafening whistle with her fingers. Only then did he jump to his feet, disoriented, alongside a herd of aggravated sheep.

"Wh-what the hell- Annabeth, Thalia! Good to see you again…how're things going? Heard anything about Perce?" With one good look at Annabeth's expression, his face changed from "happy-to-see-you" to "Oh-no…"

"Oh man…no good news, huh? But I'm sure he's okay; I didn't feel the link weakening, and I didn't faint or anything. I'm searching like crazy but not one animal around has seen him since he disappeared questioned some naiads. They've heard of him, but never actually seen him. They seemed pretty down because of that…" he sighed and wandered over to a stone, where he dropped down and sat, a defeated expression. "This isn't normal for him, huh? Normally he's the one saving us, right? I mean, he saved me at least twice, and then you, he got so many people on our side, won the war, and now he just vanishes? I don't get it-"

"GROVER! Would you just listen to me already?" Annabeth exploded, her grey eyes returning to their normal state. That being that look with which she stared you to death…just so much fun to see.

"Oh, yeah, um…sorry."

"Good." And so Annabeth explained everything to him as well. As this was the third time, Jason was already tired of hearing it for today. Maybe this was a really delayed reaction, but why was he here anyway? Was Poseidon mad at all the intruding demigods in his cabin? He and Thalia were the children of the brother he always rivaled, he had something seriously against Athena, and then a daughter of Aphrodite, and then the Oracle. And yet none of his children were in the cabin…Grover snapped him out of his thoughts by talking again.

"Oh man. Percy really got himself into _some _trouble. And that's putting it nicely." Then he suddenly was on his feet – or rather hooves- again, pointing at Annabeth's image. "Okay, wait right there. I should get to camp within a day, or at most, two. You're not leaving me out of this one. " And so another friend stormed out of sight.

The blonde in front of the fountain rolled her eyes, rubbing her temples with her fingers. The gesture was clearly out of annoyance, but everybody in the room could see how Annabeth's mood had improved during those calls.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a rumble that seemed to come from far away, but nearly knocked them off their feet. As if that wasn't enough, the noise of crashing waves increased, and Jason instinctively struck a battle pose to keep himself from dropping to the floor. And as suddenly as it came, the noise and the earthquake disappeared.

"Okaayy…what was that now?" he asked into the stunned silence of Cabin Three.

"I guess that means we're no longer welcome. Let's get out of here; I never liked the idea of coming here in the first place." Finally, after being so unusually quite for some time, Thalia had spoke again, grabbed her brother and Annabeth by the arm, with the intention of dragging them away. But the daughter of Athena pulled away, shaking her head.

"No, you go. I'll...stay here for a moment." She smiled, and Jason assumed it was, once again, a girl thing. It was a wonder how girls managed to communicate through miniscule gestures. Piper asked to stay, but was quickly rejected by Annabeth.

"No, with that warning, you should all leave. I should be safe, and maybe Rachel." She gave the Oracle a meaningful glance and the redhead nodded, dropping on the bed that seemed more used than the others. Jason spotted photos and several items on the wall, but before he could get a good look at them, his sister impatiently dragged him out of the cabin.

What was up with Annabeth? She didn't look like she needed to cry or anything. Most likely, there was something important that she didn't want them to see, like more important than those I-M' fact, Jason guessed that her brilliant brain was already scheming up complex, Athena-worthy plans. But right now, he was being dragged along to the dining pavilion, joining the crowd of campers crossing over the meadow, cabin doors slamming as their inhabitants exited.

Except for Cabin Three, where the doors remained locked shut.

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_**Well, REVIEW PLEASE ! :D And thanks for reading this far :)**_


	9. Another lost Hero?

_May, 15th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, so hail Rick Riordan! :D**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Astrid-Elizabeth-Dare_**  
**

**A/N: **_Wohoooo, next chapter! :3 Yeah, a miracle happened XD I'm really sorry about the really, really late chapter, guys. There were several problems not to be discussed here but they're now out of sight and I have a few chapters in storage for you :) You juist have to promise me to be nice and write a few reviews for me. Come on, I have 8 chapters but still get so little reviews on each D: I know you're looking at this, I have the story statistics! I'm watching you so write some reviews already x_X_

_Btw, I just red "the lost Hero" again and discovered some mistakes I did. So don't be shocked if my story is slightly changed, just some little details you didn't notice anyway. xD But I'm paranoid that way, I'll just change them and be happe XD_

**NOW, READ AND ENJOY...AND REVIEW! D8**

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_**Chapter IX**_

**Reyna**

Why was it so difficult to hold her blade against Percy's throat? Like some force wanted to back her away from his skin. But despite all that she could think of, all normal reactions that would occur to a new and inexperienced demigod -like Reyna thought he was- with a blade at his throat, the young man in front of her just raised his hand slowly and loosened her grip as if there was nothing easier in the world, bending every single finger away from the purple fabric of his sweater. Next, his fingers patiently grabbed the blade without being harmed and he pushed it away quickly and with force. The knife landed on the half frozen ground and his green eyes now had a solid look to them, staring right into hers while moving, causing a shiver down her spine.

Why did Reyna immediately think of the ocean when looking into those orbs? Like a Tsunami was rising just to crush her, her the strongest demigod in this camp with Jason missing. This was impossible, so impossible that she just stood there, staring into his eyes and being too stunned to move.

"I'm really sorry. But these are the questions that I'd like to have an answer to as well." His gaze was cool and confused at the same time, a very strange combination that startled the brunette girl more than anything else could have. His strong and unhurt fingers for example.

"Er-…w-what?" was all she managed and as soon as it came out of her mouth, she could've slapped herself very hard. _Oh Minerva, what a brilliant answer!_ She was asking the questions here, because she was the more experienced one, after all she had trained in the legion camp for years! She was second in command! But then again, why was his gaze startling her so much?

"I don't know the answer, I…it's like someone wiped out my memory or something, I just don't remember… anything." Now the look in his eyes was gone completely and he slowly but surely sank to his knees right in front of the shocked Reyna, holding his head as if wanting to stop it from falling apart. Reyna was so gob smacked that she sank down as well, staring at him.

"What? R-really? You mean, like…everything is gone? Who's your godly parent?", she asked, now a little more slowly as if talking to a child. It was the tone she always addressed the new campers with, even if they were older than her –which was hardly ever the case to be honest. But not withstanding her anticipations –again-, he wasn't staggered by the last question and just shook his head, his hands still clenched into his jet-black hair, making it even messier than it already was.

"I don't know, really. Seems I even forgot that. Gods, this is confusing. Sorry, you don't seem to be used to new guys having amnesia, right?" he seemed to have seen Reyna's expression as he was looking up slightly and she had to stare at him for another moment before she got a hold of herself. Whoa there…he didn't react to it at all. To the one secret all of them shared, that his father or mother had to be a god, to the fact that her sword could transform - and he just said 'gods', a habit some demigods had after being used to the legends existing right before them.

"Wait! Stop for a moment. Timeout." Reyna held up her hands and pressed the boy in front of her up against a tree, both hands on his shoulders so he was forced to look at her. She wanted the truth and nothing else from him. This wasn't normal. It wasn't even possible! Nobody knew about the gods before coming here. Nobody!

"You want to tell me that you already know about all those things? I mean that the gods exist? The Roman gods, all of them and that we are their children, yourself included? And you really want to convince me that you know that and nothing else, not even where you got that information from?"

Percy blinked rapidly, staring at Reyna as if he was trying really hard to stare through her. As if to see what was missing in his head.

"Erm…maybe? D-did I say that? It may sound odd but I know these stories somehow. It's like they are there and yet again, I just get some names that eventually pop up and then vanish again…Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Athena, Apollo, Artemis…" his voice trailed off and he lifted a hand just to stroke through his hair and across the grey streak in it that was another question Reyna would like to ask him about but she put it aside for the time being. There were more important things. Those names…they were - they were Greek! Okay, the Roman myths weren't well known in the USA but still, he pronounced those names as if he knew them personally. Just like if he already saw them, had a picture in his mind –though he still didn't seem to realize that.

"You are definitely not normal." Reyna concluded and sank back a little, arms crossed. Her knife still lay on the cold grass. The snow didn't reach this valley yet but it was still very cold. The brunette girl took a deep breath, her fingers grabbing the knife and playing with it like it was a toy. That helped her think. Her friends always told her to stop it because it was dangerous but wondrously, she never cut herself in her life, at least not because of the playing. After a few seconds just sitting there with both of them deep in thought, Reyna lifted her head again because she had closed her eyes in thought. The black haired boy in front of her had just kept quiet as if he didn't have an argument to disprove her statement of him being "not normal." Maybe he already thought _that_ far. After all, Lupa wasn't really a casual appearance you met on the street. And that illusion…yes, he _could_ have figured that this wasn't a normal camp for teenagers. After lifting her head, a smile broke out on her face and she tilted her head to the right, a habit of hers if she was in her friendly phase.

"Well okay. You might confuse me a bit but since Lupa trusts you…I'm going to show you around as she asked. One more thing though. It's Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Minerva and Diana. You only got the Apollo thing right. Those you used are the Greek terms, we don't use them here. As the legend says, Greek mythology faded a long time ago, we are the new generation. Lupa always teaches us that so you better remember. She can be touchy on that subject. Now come on." Reyna stood up, still smiling slightly and holding out a hand for the newcomer. Her other hand put back the golden knife into the small black pocket near her waist. Percy just nodded and took her hand. As he stood, he pointed his forefinger to his chin and tapped against it.

"Got it, Roman terms…", he muttered and sighed slightly. Reyna was still not convinced. How could he loose his memory? Was he a spy of some sort? If he was, how could Lupa let him in? On the other hand, he really seemed lost. But this strength! What was this feeling she got? She felt it before - but where? And his unhurt fingers…

But right now, she shook off her thoughts about this. She had to find out who this guy was, even if Lupa didn't want her to. Because now that she thought about it, this strange guy named Percy had appeared only three days after Jason had disappeared just as unexpectedly. What if he had something to do with Jason's disappearance? So as they walked towards the tents again, Reyna stepped a little closer to his side and forced a friendly smile.

"So. If you remember something, could you tell me about it? I also think this amnesia thing isn't normal but I'd like to help you." Yeah, maybe she was unfair to use him…but hey, she was the daughter of Mars, the war just ended, maybe she was just paranoid as always but the thought of another war was interesting, even if it meant just more death. And if she wasn't being paranoid, then perhaps he would at least end up to be an interesting guy.

Percy nodded, looking around curiously.

"Alright, I'll do that. Now could you tell me what that tattoo means?" He pointed at Reyna's right forearm that was now hidden under her sleeve and the brunettes eyes widened a bit. When did he see it? The teenager obviously saw her astonished expression and laughed a bit.

"No worries. I saw it when you pointed that knife at me." Oh…that was a logical answer! Why did she expect something else? He couldn't have eyes that saw through clothing, right? She went a little red on the cheeks against her will and her fingers pulled up the sleeve.

"Er yeah... sorry about that by the way." Just being herself, pointing knifes at every stranger and later attempting to be friendly. _Very smart again, Reyna, really. Now he probably hates you._ But Percy just shook his head.

"Oh, it's okay. You didn't hurt me after all." So now Reyna really had to smile. He was nice. Not romantically nice. Just not as stiff and formally as the others here were. More loose, a guy you met on the street. That wasn't really the kind of guy that got through here with ease. Lupa hated those types, they didn't obey properly. She decided to help him first, maybe she would find out what was up with him as time passed.

"And this is a tattoo you'll get as well. The lines each symbolize a year I've spent here and that symbol down there is my father's mark, a male gender symbol. My father is Mars, the god of war. We can only give you a symbol when you know your godly parent but you'll get a line as soon as the year is over in February." The black haired boy raised an eyebrow.

"Mars? Like Ares?"

"I told you not to call him that!", she immediately snapped back at him.

"Oh yeah, sorry." He grinned and suddenly punched Reyna's arm a little from the side with his fist. Whoa, what was that now? He saw her confused look, her hands rubbing her arm and his expression straightened.

"Oh, em..I guess that was… just a funny gesture?" Reyna raised an eyebrow. She put her hands on her waist and tilted her head again, this was the pose she always took when being short before an attack, at the edge of her patience. He just made a "funny gesture"? What was with this guy? He behaved like what he heard from those guys in New York, being all cool and punching each other stupidly when making a joke.

"So what's with that 'end of the year in February'? I thought December was the end?" he seemed to have noticed Reyna's impatience and tried to disturb her again.

"No, not in Rome. They celebrated New Year in March, the month of my father. My tent always gets the best food on that day. We keep traditions very dear, well, Lupa does."

"Oh. So that's how it is. Another question…what does this SPQR mean anyway? It's also on the tattoo, right? It's on the shirts, sweaters and on your knife." Reyna nodded and noted to herself that he wasn't as dumb as he looked at first sight. Maybe he got that punching thing as a habit from somewhere else. They rarely ever had guys from New York though it was a big city. Well, there were a few but it was rare. So Percy already noticed that sign on her knife and seemed so calm despite his memory loss. Many people that came here were already totally lost and confused but if you also don't know who or where you had been before coming here…it must be totally messed up!

"It means '**S**enatus **P**opulus**q**ue **R**omanus' or 'The Senate and People of Rome'. A honorable thing to wear on your arm, don't you think?" Again, Percy looked slightly startled but he nodded, bowing down his head to look at the ground while walking. They now reached the tents and Reyna suddenly stopped, causing Percy to almost walk into her.

"And now I present you our tents. You know, we could have had houses but we were told that Roman legions always slept in tents. Kind of another tradition. Every tent has a patron and that always is the father or mother of the children that live in this tent. So to speak, number one is Jupiter, second one would be Juno, his wife. She wouldn't want to accept any other place than that next to her husband. Plus, it's only honorary, she doesn't have children. Being goddess of marriage and all." She pointed at two of the bigger tents straight in front of them. They both now stood right in the middle of the meadow and looking around them, they could see the tents perfectly and how they were lined up in a "II". Behind the first line one might notice a second and the tents seemed different, much smaller and not so fancy. Percy kept quiet while Reyna explained all the cabins to him and who their godly patron was. Again, Reyna was surprised how he took everything in and as she reached the end, she just had to ask.

"Why are you so quiet about all of this?" Reyna seemed to have caught Percy off guard because he now flinched and almost fell over again. The brunette girl had to force herself not to laugh. He just looked so ridiculous!

"Er well…it's kinda strange what happens to my head while I listened to you. I felt like I've heard something like that before but yet again, it's totally gone. It's like trying to catch smoke." Reyna's eyes narrowed and she curled her lips a bit. Had she ever heard something like that before? It wasn't exactly normal that he had heard about tents that had gods as their patron, right? What exactly was this guy? Maybe he was from one of the myths? But why would someone revive one of the heroes? No, that was kinda impossible, right? But it would make sense, his memory was whipped, he wasn't supposed to remember what he did in his past because it was impossible for him to be even alive…- _No, stop, Reyna, you're going out of order. That's _not_ possible, stop this thought immediately! I'll discuss this with Hazel later, she's smart, I'm sure she knows how to handle this guy. _She glared at him as if he was an enemy, mouth formed to a straight line and then again, smiled a second later.

"Okay, then just drop it. We're going to the beach next!" That seemed to astonish him, his face was lightning up so much that Reyna thought she just announced an all-you-can-eat with his favorite food.

"B-beach? Wow, I thought that was a lake!" his green eyes lit up when they reached the salty water and Reyna again noticed the color resemblance. But that couldn't be, right? No, that also was impossible. However, she was pulled out of her thoughts again when they both heard a terrifying scream. It echoed over the whole beach and several soldiers nearby stopped in their tracks. It was then that Percy and Reyna, now closest to the half frozen beach, noticed several figures swimming inside of the icy water. From what Reyna could tell it was a broken down boat that was sinking slowly, a far too familiar girl and a creature that created a monstrous shadow in the ice cold waves while circling the girl, about to crush her just as he did with her boat.

"Dakotaaaa!" Reyna shouted, unsure if it was smart to swim in her direction straight on without knowing how big the monster was exactly. She had already transformed her swords but despite all the courage she had, her steps towards the water were still unsure. But before anybody could even react further, Percy changed again. His eyes narrowed, he grabbed one of the surfboards that lay nearby and jumped into the waves as if it was the beach of Florida in midsummer, not the almost frozen shores of San Francisco. His jaw strained and eyes locked on the shadow, he jumped on the board, reached into his jeans and brought out a small object. Reyna couldn't believe her eyes. What the hell was this guy up to? He was a newbie, there was no way he could go against this monster and it was even more impossible if you considered the ice cold water around it. She thought he was just a little strange but this was plainly crazy! Great, and there she thought he had potential… With a loud and ugly curse coming from her lips, she turned straight at Dakota and just started to enter the water, swords changed back. Maybe she would be able to get her out; it had to be done somehow!

As the water soaked her clothes, she looked up and suddenly was taken aback when Percy was missing, no sight of him anywhere. Did the monster already get him?

Did they just lose another hero?

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**Yay, Chapter 9 finished? Sweet cliffhanger much? :D Please REVIEW and tell me what you think! :)**


	10. Rescued by the prophecy guy

_May, 19th 2011  
_

**I don't own any of the characters, so hail Rick Riordan! :D**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hello there, guys and girls! ^^ As promised, I'm going to deliver the next chapters a little faster :D Okay, this one and the next, to be exact XD Just wanted to tell you that I'm enjoying your opinion of my story very much. It always helps me when I get to read a "I like this" or something. Really gives me the strength to keep going! So keep it up, unless I get at least as much reviews on this one as on the last, I don't know if the next chapter will be after three days as well! ;P _

_Think about it._

**So do it, REVIEW! It's for your own good 8D**

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_**Chapter X**_

**Percy**

It all happened so aggravatingly fast. First, there were those instructions about camp, and the girl with the knife that basically wanted to kill him. Then those tents, that feeling of recognition, and now he was about to walk into waters that could freeze him to death…Well, they could, if he got wet. When he heard the scream and saw the shadow, it was like his mind wasn't the same anymore.

Before, he was confused, without a shred of memory, but now, it was like he just…knew what he could do, and what he couldn't. His hands grabbed onto the board, acting on their own, taking out the pen, uncapping it and voila, a _sword_. Afterwards, Percy thought that this must've looked pretty cool, although he felt like an idiot when it actually happened. That shadow was huge –what could _he _do? But then, it was that feeling again. The same one he got when looking at the tents, and when faced with Lupa's illusion, it was there as he looked down at that lake. Maybe his muscles remembered. Or maybe his memory wasn't completely gone.

Anyway, what was important now was that he was surfing, and strangely, he was absolutely fine, even in those huge, ice cold waves. His clothes had to be magical or something, because he didn't shiver at all while the water crushed onto him. Did Lupa put some magic spell on him? Like the kind of magic on his pen and Reyna's swords? Maybe, but that wasn't his biggest concern at the moment.

The sword still in his hand, he bent his knees a bit more, curving around the crushed boat, using his arms to keep his balance. His gut suddenly felt strange , like someone had tugged on his navel. Then, somehow or another, he found himself looming over the monster. The girl next to him, drenched and struggling with the waves, gladly appreciated his help and grabbed onto the board, breathing heavily. Her blonde hair stuck to her face, and she coughed up a lot of water.

Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw the monster moving in their direction, and a moment later he was completely submerged. Unfortunately, he hadn't had the time to take a breath, and he tried to swim up to the surface for air, but failed.

But when he finally got a good look at the monster, it was impossible for him to move or even look away because of the sight. It was staring at him like Percy was the one with big eyes, a serpent's head, and the tail of a fish. The creature's teeth sitting in its mouth were huge and monstrous. Percy's sword suddenly felt about as big as a toothpick. He shivered, but not because of the cold, as would've been normal. No – it was out of fear. Still, he stretched out his arm, his blade extended in the monster's direction. Acting on instinct, he started talking, although he really didn't know what he was saying or why he was saying it.

"Get away from here _now_, or I'll personally slice you up with this sword! Do you want to go the same way your brothers have gone?" Wait, he _said _that? But he was underwater, right?

But now that he thought about it, it was more like a voice came from his head. And even more surprisingly, he just noticed that he didn't need air. Rather than gulping in a huge mouthful of water, he inhaled normally, as if he was on land. He was _breathing underwater._

This couldn't be real…he was dreaming, right? Unexpectedly, what told Percy that this was real was the monster, begging for mercy. He didn't have the imagination to picture such a creature curling his big body to a ring, wincing in front of him.

"I'm sorry, my lord! I was not aware of your presence. That girl had been around those shores for several days, one morning after another. She came so close to my cliffs with the other children that I had to scare her off. Please forgive me! I will not do it again!" it bowed – well, Percy assumed that was what it was going for- and swam off into the darkness of the deep waters stretching out in front of the teenager.

Percy blinked, once again completely lost, the same expression on his face that made Reyna laugh a few minutes ago. W-what was that just now? Lord? Him? But…why? How? He was jolted out of his thoughts when he felt the water being moved above him –yes, he felt it, okay? The blonde girl and the surfboard had managed to stay relatively afloat, and another person grabbed them, attempting to pull them back to shore.

The waves were high on this winter day, and freezing to match. His sea green eyes widened when he noticed that they were almost drowning. He swam up to them easier than should have been possible, breaking through the surface and grabbing onto the board. Both girls stared at him immediately, and he noticed that the other one was Reyna.

"You're _alive_? How could you stay underwater that…Wait, you aren't even…" She didn't finish either of her sentences, not only because she seemed to realize something big, her eyes widening, but also because another wave crashed against them. They were all pulled under, and Percy's sword was ripped from his grip. Strangely, it didn't worry him; maybe he just had bigger things to deal with than a simple weapon. He grabbed both girls by their hands and pulled them up to the surface and on to the board, so they could grasp it.

"Hold on tight. We can talk later, when we're all on solid ground and not about to drown. _Now come on, this worked a minute ago…" _he mumbled the last thing to himself, reaching out his hand and motioning to the waves. Again, he felt like an idiot, at first. But then the feeling hit his gut again, and the water seemed to react. It couldn't have been an illusion this time, and as crazy as it was, it _had_ to have happened. Just like that, the wave that was about to crush them again just stopped, slowed down, and instead supported them, pushing them back to the beach. Percy was at the end of the board, steering it in the right direction. How he did this, he had absolutely no idea, and couldn't think of any possible explanation.

When they finally managed to set foot on the shore, a bunch of soldiers were already waiting. Apparently, stuff like this happened a lot, because they had towels and clothes for all three of them to change into. The only thing that shocked them was something next to Percy…or wait, were they looking at him? Alright, so he jumped into the water, surfed through those crazy, tsunami-like waves, scared off a monster with some pretty words, and magically got them back to the shore safely. Changing swords into bracelets was totally normal, but apparently what he did wasn't.

Then again, the craziness of what he _just did_ finally hit him. How did he do all that? How did he know how to do all that? Shaking his head, trying to clear the astonishment from his mind, he returned his focus to the crowd of other kids around him.

Reyna's face was the same as the rest of them, and she stared at Percy with a weird expression: A cross between realization, disbelief, and anger. Her coffee-brown eyes looked over him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. They had stepped out of the water, and the demigods on the shore had tossed towels to the two girls who had came out of the water. But nobody bothered to give one to Percy, because –

"You aren't wet. Not a drop on you," a girl next to Reyna stated plainly. Her arms were crossed, and she had probably just handed a towel to the shivering girl on the other side of Reyna –Dakota, Percy remembered. The girl who had spoken gave him a strange feeling, like he had met someone like her before, even if he couldn't remember where. Her eyes were grey, like the storm that roared far away in the distance. They glared at him with such intensity that Percy was pretty sure that she could see straight into his head. She looked at him like a specimen, something interesting to study and nothing more.

Her hair was a kind of reddish-brown that mixed with her eyes so strangely it looked pretty. She took a few steps forward, reaching him in an instant and walking around him like that monster did with Dakota a few moments ago. Percy discovered that the grey eyed girl was right: he wasn't wet. And that couldn't have been because of his clothes. If it was, then how could his hair and skin have been dry too? Reaching down to his back pocket, he found the pen in his jeans, although he swore he had lost it in the water in sword form. That made…absolutely no sense whatsoever.

"And you are…who?" he finally brought out of his mouth, uncomfortable and annoyed by everyone staring at him –again. This girl was even worse, stalking around him like a tiger and once more, Percy didn't want to be treated like the bait. So he charged.

"Because if you want to ask me something, go ahead. I'm not going to stand here all day while you stare at me because I'm dry when I shouldn't be. I just rescued the girl, alright? Is that a crime?" He crossed his arms, his green eyes following the girl that was now stopping in her track, right before him. Her eyes were filled with astonishment for a moment, blinking rapidly as if she wasn't used to people talking to her that way.

"What did you say? I could ask the same question! Picking a fight? Because I'm experienced, and new boys shouldn't risk their lives like this, challenging me." She slowly pulled out an object from a pocket around her leg, but was stopped by a voice behind her.

"Stop, Hazel. This is an order," Reyna said, clear that she had authority. Her brown hair was still wet and pulled back in that high ponytail she'd been wearing from the beginning. But her clothes were dry now, as well as Dakota's, who came rushing up behind her, reaching Percy in an instant and smiling widely. How did they dry so fast? What?

Hazel –so that was her name- stopped immediately, even if her face clearly didn't seem pleased with Reyna's decision. Percy also got a good look at the girl he rescued. She was just a little shorter than him with blonde hair, full and a little wavy, and her face was really pretty, though it seemed to change when Percy looked at her. Why this happened, Percy had no idea. Another strange thing was that her makeup didn't seem to have gotten messed up at all, although she had to have been wearing it when she was in the water. Putting aside the thought for the moment, he focused on Hazel again, who was now just staring at him, silent. Reyna was the next to speak, her voice filled with excitement for some reason or another. She clapped her hands together and stepped closer to Percy.

"You really are one! A child of one of Jupiter's brothers! He _has_ to be! He fought the monster, controlled the waves, didn't drown, and isn't frozen or wet at all! It has to be him, I'm sure of it!"

Hazel, the girl with those stormy eyes, nodded and crossed her arms, still looking-slash-glaring at him. "Yeah, it seems like it. So this was what Gwen was talking about: someone similar to Jason. It makes sense to me. But honestly, did anyone expect Neptune to break the vow?"

Reyna shook her head, and she stared at Percy, who had returned to his state of utter confusion. The thoughts in his brain were fuzzy, as if the words were familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what they were supposed to mean. Neptune? Vow? Jason? What the heck were they talking about? He lifted his hands in defense and took a good step away from the three girls, all of whom had different expressions on their faces, not to mention all the other soldiers in armor surrounding him.

"I'm sorry, but I have no clue what you're talking about. Could somebody please tell me what you want?" he exclaimed, thoroughly exasperated, focusing particularly on Reyna for answers. She seemed to be the one in charge here, while that Dakota girl was looking at him in a way he wasn't quite able to describe. Sort of like she was about to hug him out of thankfulness, or maybe other reasons he didn't even want to know. Reyna, on the other hand, seemed to remember something, hitting herself in the forehead.

"Oh yeah, forgot about your amnesia."

"Amnesia? What do you mean? You mean he doesn't know where he came from? But he's way older than most demigods that make it here!" A crease formed in Hazel's forehead, and she obviously didn't like being confused.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that, he doesn't remember _anything_! First, I thought it was a trick of his, but now…I guess something happened to him. I sense war."

"Oh, come on. You always do!"

Everyone that still remained at the beach followed the conversation between Hazel and Reyna like a tennis match, eyes swiveling from one person to the other. After Hazel's last statement, Reyna shrugged and turned to Percy again.

"Just saying. Anyway, it seems that we've figured out your godly parent before the claiming…unless you've already been claimed…" Hazel nodded and stepped forward. She was obviously the smart one here, no doubt, and she knew it. Percy didn't know if he liked that type of girl, but he'd probably find out.

"You, um…" Hazel trailed off, staring at the guy, whose name she still didn't know.

"Percy," Reyna threw into her sentence. Hazel simply nodded in response before continuing.

"You, Percy, are a son of the god of the sea, weather, and all flowing water, the earthshaker, Neptune. We just got a pretty clear demonstration of your powers. We've definitely got it right." She was now so close to his face that Percy could have sworn her grey eyes were looking right into his mind. Her index finger jabbed against his –completely dry, strangely enough- chest and with every word she said, she poked a little harder. Not that it hurt –in fact he didn't really feel it- but it seriously annoyed him, even without her are-you-stupid glare. Was she always like this?

He forced his green eyes to stare back at hers and with a deep breath, he steadied himself. His hand pushed her finger aside, slowly forcing her to back away from him, giving him at least enough space to stand properly. Then he straightened his back again and opened his mouth to talk back at her.

But before he could even say, "Whoa there, freak," his face was buried in at least a million streaks of blonde hair, and he found himself lying on the ground, Dakota on top of him.

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**A/N: **_And as you all predicted, Percy saves the day! Hurraaay XD I admit, that one was really obvious. I'll try to do better cliffhanger next time xP_

**Aaaah, we've come to chapter 10! Let's all celebrate this with more reviews! :D No, seriously, write them. It just takes a minute or two, give me that as a present. _Please?_ It was my birthday just a few days ago D:**


	11. Lupa, the dreaded

_May, 23th 2011  
_

**I don't own any of the characters, so hail Rick Riordan! :D**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Well, hello! :) _

_Thank you all so very much for the congratulations! That's so nice of you :3 But I hope the reviews weren't only because of that, right? ;P_

_Sorry for the late but I guess I wanted to wait so you could be sure to have the next chapter up as fast. Unfortunately, the next chapter isn't delivered by my beta yet and I don't want you to wait that long. Maybe you'll have to...we'll see about that XD _

_Hope you like this one, Reyna is _**very**_ proud. And Percy shows his typical character that doesn't want to obey to discipline. :D _

_Enjoy!  
_

**AND OF COURSE REVIEW! It's for your own good 8D**

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**_Chapter XI_**

**Percy**

His eyes widened in complete shock as the girl loosened her grip around him, looking at his face, which was _way_ too close to hers at the moment. Not that she wasn't pretty or anything, but he was pretty sure that this kind of…greeting, or whatever, wasn't exactly normal for him. Dakota's voice rang like a bell in Percy's ears, and she seemed as pleased with this situation as much as Percy ready to run away from it.

What was with this camp? Was every girl here insane? The first one held a knife to his throat, the second enjoyed staring him to death, and the third knocked him over, lying on top of him with a lovey-dovey look in her eyes.

"This is so awesome! The prophecy guy rescued me, and not only that, he-is-_hot_! Did you say he was Neptune's son, Hazel? His eyes are just as green as the water and his hair-" While she spoke, she lifted a hand, stroking through Percy's jet-black hair. The boy was still too puzzled and disoriented to react; this was different from the other two girls. They had weapons, which he could handle somehow, but this girl just…yeah, she just officially confused the heck out of him.

But suddenly, Dakota squeaked, as a set of very sharp teeth grabbed her hair and pulled her away from Percy, forcing the demigod to sit on the ground in front of Reyna.

Great. By now, half the camp was here, and Percy was still lying on the ground, his face as red as a tomato –which he didn't exactly notice before- and thoroughly humiliated by two girls. And even better: Lupa stared at him, her four legs next to his body, her teeth just above his face. Her silver eyes glared at him, and if Percy thought Hazel's looks could kill, then Lupa's would murder you cruelly.

"Young demigod, how could you cause all this chaos, only thirty minutes after your arrival here?" A growl came from her throat, and whatever courage Percy may have had a few minutes ago decided to vanish. He threw himself into the freezing cold water, he beat up that monster – although it turned out to be friendlier than expected-, and he even picked a fight with Hazel, just to watch her pride fall. But this? Being eaten by a wolf or god or…whatever Lupa was, it wasn't on the top of his to-do list.

Fortunately, Reyna came to his rescue, fighting for his side, for some reason or another. Or maybe she just wanted to kill him with her own hands, which was probably possible. Her dad was Ares – wait, Mars, right? – after all. Percy got the feeling that he and the war god, whatever he wanted to call himself, weren't on the best of terms. But when would he have met the god of war? _Okay, stop thinking, Percy. Just listen_. He steadied his thoughts, while being forced to look into Lupa's threatening eyes.

When Reyna began talking, Percy was absolutely lost. She spoke Latin, which he recognized somehow, though he couldn't understand anything she said…

"_I-it's not really his fault, Lupa. I showed him around, as you asked me to, but something was off. He seems to have forgotten everything about his life before getting here. But then, when we got to the beach, a monster around the cliffs attacked Dakota. It shattered her boat, and I was about to get her when Percy here jumped in to rescue her. He surfed all the way to where she was, although the waves were rough. After a few minutes, he came out, and the monster was gone. He took Dakota and I back to the beach, and somehow, he was unscathed and completely dry." _Reyna pointed at Percy's clothes, and Lupa's eyes narrowed even more.

But she didn't interrupt Reyna, so the girl continued._"Hazel confirmed my assumption that he's a son of Neptune, considering what happened today. We're all a little suspicious because of his age and appearance. But something about him reminds me of Jason, and he obviously has experience, except his mind got erased."_

Lupa finally let go of Percy, removing her paws from his shoulders and allowing him to sit up. As they were all talking in Latin, his confusion wasn't eased as Lupa said,_ "No, not erased. His memories got stolen. But I didn't expect Neptune to be the one…" _She glared at him, and Percy actually managed to spit something out. He already had no clue about what was going on, and everyone switching to another language he didn't know wasn't helping.

"W-wait a minute. Could you repeat that in English…please? I'm not exactly an expert at Latin." He scratched his head and got up, glad to be on the same level as the other soldiers again. But that didn't really help, because all of the twenty or so campers around him stared at the demigod, as if he'd said that he was really a two-headed, poison-spitting dragon.

"What? But…everybody here can speak Latin! It comes naturally to us, it's-"

"Stop." The she-wolf walked closer to Percy again, interrupting Reyna and looking up at the confused teenager in front of her.

"There are reasons why he doesn't know. Just trust me. Now get going, Reyna. You still have many things to show to him, right?" She gave Reyna a warning look and walked away, her fur glowing as if she was holding together a light inside her that threatened to explode. There were things she couldn't even tell her dearest pups, things she swore on the river Styx to never talk about.

But Reyna had had enough. Her face clearly showed that she wanted answers, which Hazel noticed, trying to hold back her friend. "Wait, Reyna, you know that-" But it was already too late.

"Wait up, Lupa. I want to know what's going on here. Who is this guy; can we trust him? This isn't like you, what's going on?" the enraged daughter of Mars shouted, her finger pointed at the she-wolf who stopped in her track. Everyone around them held their breath, except for Percy. He sighed, putting his hands in the pockets of his sweater. Okay, so she was _not_ on his side; apparently, his only "friend" was Dakota, who he considered crazy.

Now that Reyna had let all of her thoughts roll off her tongue, she continued her rant while Lupa stood silently.

"You know what's going on, right? Jason is gone and you won't even let us search for him! I bet you know where he is, and you know who this guy here is! He's a son of one of the big three! There's no way he would survive without the Castra until his age! We should've known about him for a long time! You're always so bossy, but we just ended this war! Why are you being so secretive? At least tell _me_!" Her gaze was furious, practically desperate as the demigod glowered at the she-wolf.

There was a deadly silence as Reyna stopped talking, frozen in the same position. The words she let herself ramble on about slowly sunk in, but Lupa remained as still as a statue. Percy watched with his hands clenching into fists in his pockets. Okay, what was up now? Reyna could state her opinion, right? Sure, she didn't seem like the nicest person, but why were they all looking at her like they she was on her deathbed? He didn't know who this Jason guy was, but he was clearly important here. Percy automatically wondered what the big deal was, but his thoughts were interrupted by a brown flash that skimmed past him, barely an inch away. It hit Reyna, who wasn't able to raise a hand in defense before Lupa's teeth were at her throat.

"You dare to disobey me, Reyna Guerra? After all the mercy I've given you in the past few days? I should've killed you when you and the others first tried to sneak out of the Castra! But I was merciful because I knew of your circumstances. Listen to me very closely: this is nothing, absolutely _nothing_ you need to know about, none of you. You should've listened to Hazel; she was wise enough to understand the consequences. You will pay, like I promised you last night…" The menacing voice echoed in all of their heads, and it was so threatening that the brown haired girl shivered, even without the razor-sharp teeth pressed to her neck.

The daughter of the war god rarely shivered – heck, she was rarely ever _scared_ – but she knew that Lupa would kill her pups if they disobeyed her. Reyna could deal with monsters easily, but Lupa was a different story…she was taught to respect her since she was what, 8 years old? The teeth closed around her neck, breaking through her skin, but before they could crush it, Reyna heard a voice.

It was male, and she had only heard it today. But as opposed to the confidence she could already identify as part of him, right now, he didn't seem so sure of himself. Still, the thought itself was admirable. The black haired teenager stepped up to the she-wolf and Reyna, hands still in his pockets, his expression one of slight discomfort, but nonetheless, he seemed to feel like he needed to do this.

"Er, Madam Lupa? I don't think you should be doing this."

A plain statement. A plain, simple statement, that wasn't even straight out accusatory. But as he said it, the other soldiers around them gasped for air. He wasn't just new; he criticized Lupa of doing something wrong, and interfered during a punishment. Okay, none of them wanted Reyna to die, but they wouldn't have dared to do this. They expected Lupa to lunge for Percy instead, ending his life before he could blink his green eyes again. But she slowly released her teeth from Reyna's throat, and glanced an evil, threatening glance at Percy.

"Why do you think so, son of Neptune?" she questioned, as if she really wanted to know his reasons. Honestly, she almost smiled at his shaking hands, obviously aware of the danger she possessed, yet he said it. So moody, these children of the sea. She'd teach him respect, yes. But right now…this situation was rather amusing and entertaining.

On the other hand, Percy became even more nervous. Lupa was clearly respected here, but it felt…wrong, how she behaved in front of the other soldiers here. They had their own will, and in his opinion, it was Reyna's right to ask for her lost friend, whoever he was. Of course he didn't have anything to do with him –as far as he knew- but still, Reyna didn't have to be killed just for asking, right? So the young demigod took a deep breath, a determined glint in his eyes as his hands stopped shaking.

"Well, would it really be productive to kill all your strong soldiers because they want to get their friends back, or they speak their mind? I don't know who this Jason guy is, but it seems as if he was pretty important here. Isn't it only natural to react that way then? Well, yeah, that's…that's it I guess." He fidgeted, uncomfortable under the stares of the other campers.

What had he done wrong? This was what he thought; it's not like that was something criminal, right? Lupa stared at him too, but it seemed like she was prying into his thoughts, attempting to read his mind. This wolf was terrifying! Where did he get the courage to oppose her again?

Suddenly, the goddess grinned, gleeful, and stepped up from Reyna's chest. "Very well. You have been spared by this demigod's courage; it's more than what most of you possess. But…" The she-wolf's expression hardened, baring her teeth as a warning, showing Percy how pointy they were. She stepped a little closer to the green-eyed demigod, who was seriously reconsidering the intelligence of his actions…

Lupa continued, "That quality may help you against monsters, but I will tell you this once, and only once: Don't _ever _oppose me again, understand?" Percy swallowed hard and nodded quickly. When Lupa didn't back down, he realized how everyone around him had their hands in a salute, and fumbled in an attempt to imitate the other demigods, his muscles tightening.

"Y-yes, Madam Lupa!" he stuttered slightly, and immediately felt stiff and uncomfortable. But Lupa seemed satisfied, walking off, as everyone else relaxed their stance.

Percy loosened up; exhaling a breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. That wolf really scared him. He made his way over to Reyna, holding out a hand to help her up.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked, a small smile on his face that was _supposed_ to cheer her up. He glanced at Dakota, who shook her head, very slowly, as if she wanted to tell him something. Reyna had sat up now, her brown hair falling out of its ponytail and hanging over her eyes. Her hands were shaking, and Percy assumed that she was still in shock, which was understandable. After being a second away from death, anyone would be shaky for a while, right?

So he kneeled down, the idea being to calm her down. Unfortunately, the words he was looking for wouldn't come to his mouth, and he slightly recalled the fact that he did _not_ know how to comfort girls, particularly. But he had to try, right? Reyna had been there for him in the few minutes he had been here…wherever "here" was.

Hazel, who had been behind Reyna, stepped forward a little, also trying to warn Percy of something. "Hey, new guy. You really shouldn't-" she began, but jumped back as two golden swords swung in Percy's direction, whose reflexes miraculously kicked in, completely avoiding her attack. He blinked rapidly, trying to focus at Reyna. The teenage-girl had tears in her eyes, a fierce rage burning in her expression. Percy was amazed that someone could beat out Hazel in a death glare competition, particularly because he was facing a perfect 10 on the scale.

"H-hey!" Percy managed to get out, tripping over the words, "What in the world was that for? I just saved you from getting killed! Could you...calm down already?"

It was a definite now: the girls here were absolutely insane.

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**Please, REVIEW! How did you like the chapter? Was this too un-Percy? Was Lupa too nice? Please tell me :3**


	12. Secret Visions

_May, 30th 2011  
_

**I don't own any of the characters, so hail Rick Riordan! :D**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hey there, guys and girls! _

_Why're you doing this to me? T_T I only got so little reviews on the last chapter...was it that bad? :( As a "punishment" you get a shorter chapter now..._

_No, it's just concidence that it's short...really XD_

_Still, I want my reviews! *puppy eyes* It's depressing to see how many reviews other stories get. Is my story that bad? What do you want me to change about it? Or do you like it? Do you? REALLY? _

_Then freaking **TELL ME!** T_T Please?_

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_**Chapter XII**_

**Annabeth**

Annabeth didn't show up for supper. She wasn't really hungry, and besides, she had important matters to discuss with Rachel. And of course, sitting on Percy's bed gave her another reason to stay right where she was. She'd been here several times since his disappearance, but sometimes the door wouldn't open. When the cabin did cooperate with her, she would just sit here and think, crying sometimes, though she'd never admit it, unsure of when she would see her boyfriend again. Heck, she didn't know if he was even _alive_. But by now, the situation was different. She was pretty confident that he was still alive, since Grover hadn't been thrown into a coma through the empathy link. And ignoring the fact that Gaea was rising, Percy was somewhere safe, even if there still was this memory thing, and the whole fact that Romans aren't known for niceness…

"So, have you had any visions about him? I know you joined us for a reason." Annabeth broke the silence, which had been lying upon Cabin Three ever since the others left. Rachel had examined the photos on the wall, the ones which Annabeth had stared at so many times that the blonde girl could recall every detail perfectly.

"Oh, right, I had a vision. Percy was lying on the floor in a broken down mansion, unconscious, when a big she-wolf with brown glowing fur leaned over him, and then he leaped up. She gave him nectar before they vanished. They could've been anywhere, but then the vision shifted somewhere else." She paused and looked up, her green eyes looking somewhere behind Annabeth.

"When the scene changed, he sat in a dark room similar to this cabin, with the whole 'sea' vibe, wearing a purple shirt, staring at his necklace, Riptide and an orange camp shirt. I guess it must've been at Roman camp, considering the purple shirt…" She trailed off, and Annabeth let the message sink in for a moment. So he really was at Roman Camp; he had met Lupa, the she-wolf. Annabeth knew that Rachel's visions weren't always about the future, ranging from any point in time, so this might not have happened yet, for all she knew. It was hard to tell, just like demigod dreams.

But why did the daughter of Athena feel that Rachel was hiding something from her? The redhead was biting her lip, fingering a smudge of paint on her hand. She must've been painting something, which she usually did when a particularly important vision passed by. And what Rachel had said so far didn't seem crucial enough for her to look for Annabeth…

"What are you hiding?" she asked into the silence, her grey, sharp eyes narrowing as she watched Rachel's every move, prepared to analyze her reaction. The Oracle cringed and stopped rubbing her hand, but she didn't answer her friend's question, cursing in her head. Damn. She had forgotten about Annabeth's talent for reading her movements, expressions and actions. It was impressive in a scary way, and really not helping Rachel at the moment.

"You painted something, right? Show it to me!" As Annabeth spoke, she grabbed Rachel's arms and forced her to turn in her direction, to look her in the eyes. If the Oracle had had a vision about Percy that she was hesitating to show her…what could it be? Would something happen to him? Damn, she had to know!

"I-I can't show you, Annabeth. There were strict instructions that you're not supposed to know about it, let alone see it! I didn't think that you would all be in the cabin when I came here to…" She stopped, green eyes looking to the side, an unexplainable and clearly sad expression on her face. But Annabeth wasn't giving in to some instructions within a vision. If Rachel knew about something big enough that she wasn't allowed to see…what if Percy-

"Look, I _have _to know what was in that painting! You know that visions can be interpreted in multiple ways, and we have to look at it like a prophecy! Rachel, please, I have to know…at least show _me_." Annabeth's gaze changed into a desperate, pleading look, her voice cracking on the last word. Hades, what could possibly be in that painting? But before Annabeth could ask anything else, Rachel stood up abruptly, her green eyes locked to the ground like she was fighting with herself to make the decision.

"No, Annabeth. Trust me, this one was obvious." She stroked her hand over Percy's bedding, and took a last glance at the pictures on the wall, which included one of Rachel and Percy. Then she turned her back on the blonde demigod, leaving the cabin without another word.

Annabeth stared after her with wide, grey eyes. So it was what she feared…well, at least one of her Percy-related fears. He could've become someone else, groomed by the Roman camp to be ruthless and evil. She couldn't bear to lose another precious person that way. Or, he might like the Roman camp better, and wouldn't even try to get his memories back; he finds a girlfriend, settles down with her, forgetting about everyone at Camp Half-Blood. Third, a personal fear that Rachel wouldn't have any reason to worry about, that he falls in love with someone else, leaving her alone (much like the second). And the last one, the worst possible outcome – he died.

That was one thought that she couldn't deal with, even if he wasn't lost at the Roman camp. And now, if he died without his memory, without remembering her, it would be just…unbearable. Her lips began quivering again, though she had been completely calm a few minutes ago, the tears threatening to burst out of her eyes.

But she stopped herself from letting tears flow down her cheeks by inhaling and exhaling slowly. Okay, she had to find out what Rachel had been seeing. It wasn't going to be easy; after all, she was the Oracle – she could see the future. But Annabeth was the daughter of Athena, and she wasn't going down that easily.

So she stood up, following Rachel's example, and took a last glance at the pictures on the wall. She had visited Percy in his cabin all the time during the summers they had spent together. Plus, those pictures held memories of him, including that Minotaur horn hanging on the wall. She could practically see him in front of her, how he looked as he collapsed at the camp borders. An untrained, twelve-year-old demigod, defeating the Minotaur – even then, he was impressive, though she wouldn't have admitted it.

The demigod jogged outside, avoiding the dining pavilion where everyone was eating. No one would notice her as she snuck into Rachel's cave, but as a safety precaution, she pulled out her Yankees cap and put it on. Immediately, her whole body disappeared, turning transparent, but hopefully, Rachel wouldn't be able to see her in any visions. Annabeth hadn't really thought about it before, but her mother's powers on this gift were certainly strong enough to protect against the Oracle's.

With quick glances over her shoulder, she crept up to the cave, pulling aside the purple curtains…

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_Er yes, something with Annabeth again. And she's being really curious...well, she should be. Because what she discovers is...no, I won't say it, you'll have to wait *muhaha*_  
**What do you think of the chapter? PLEASE REVIEEEEEW! :)**


	13. Reyna, the invincible?

_June 6th, 2011_

_**All the characters belong to Rick Riordan**_

**Beta for this Chapter:** _Astrid-Elizabeth-Dare_

_**A/N:** Hey there! :)_

_Wow, I got an invitation for one of the universities. That's the cause of the lateness xD I have to do homework for the second part of the test. _

_And guys, how cool are you? You managed 12 reviews for the last chapter, that's a record! Will you break it? :D_

**SO REVIEW, MANAGE A NEW RECORD! ...XD**

* * *

_**Chapter XIII**_

**Reyna**

This jerk! This goddamn jerk! How dare he offend her honor like that? Not that she didn't appreciate her life being saved, but hey, could she at least have the pleasure of deciding for herself when to die? She didn't need a new, boastful demigod to walk up to Lupa and convince the goddess to spare her! What was that, she hadn't asked for his help or anything! As if he'd resemble Jason, not a little bit! He thoughts so highly of himself, trying to get attention through acting cool and strong. She bet he wouldn't even last a minute against her. And that newbie, that weakling dared to make her seem vulnerable when lying beneath Madame Lupa? She would've kept her honor if Lupa would have killed her for asking questions she wasn't supposed to ask. That's how Lupa was, it would've been nothing unusual.

And not even that. After Lupa was gone, seemingly because of Percy's speech, that guy had the guts to walk towards her, wanting to help her up like she was some weak daughter of Venus or something! Furthermore, his tone was adding to her rage even more.

That's when she snapped.

It was just too much. First Jason disappeared then Lupa behaved as if she knew something but wouldn't tell them. Next, this guy here appeared, had no memory, her friends set hope in him because of his strange appearance – she had as well, subconsciously- and on top of it all he was now just driving her nuts with his behavior, acting all cool and good-guy-like. Her swords were in her hands before she even knew it and she would normally have sliced up the guy just by now with her speed. She was so fast that nobody in camp was able to keep up with her usually. But strangely, he just dodged her advances with ease. After a moment of astonished staring at her sudden attack he tried to talk to her, but she didn't even hear what the green eyed demigod said. All she knew was the rage that throbbed in her brain. In the blink of an eye he stood straight, taking out a pen as if it was for defense.

"Now what, you gonna draw on me? Don't make me laugh!" she sneered and straightened her swords. That was when she was taken aback a little by another person's interference.

"Yeah, right. Even if you got a super killer weapon there, you can't win against Reyna, boy. You may be pretty old and have Neptune as your father and all. Or maybe you're only a strong Son of Fons? Just a pretty boy wearing a necklace, no way you're a disciple of mighty Neptune!" He laughed very hard and Percy grimaced as if he wondered who the heck that would be. The boy who had spoken was a big and muscular guy who anyone with guessing-which-godly-parent experience would have assigned to Vulkanus. But Reyna knew his godly parent, he was a son of Mercury and a pretty strong one to be honest. His name was Bob and he was known for his big mouth which was already showing again. He was one of her closer friends and supported their system of "survival of the fittest" [A/N: I know, Darwin xD], he was always very strict with the new recruits.

"You can't beat her, she's our strongest soldier. Either you give up or you're done for. If you give in I could teach you some things about us and how to fight." He grinned and folded his muscular arms. Reyna glanced at him and back at Percy. Right, she had attacked him. Even though her anger had calmed down a bit she would still really like to slice up his throat. But now she noticed that his stance was unlike anything she'd ever seen. His feet stood steady and yet one knee was slightly bent and the right food a little bit astern. His hands held the pen with a solid grip and they didn't even shake. After Bob finished speaking Percy hesitated for a moment before smiling, blowing his jet-black hair aside because it had slightly covered his sea-green eyes from jumping up so fast.

"No thanks. I'll take her. I still don't know the reason for the attack but you know what, Reyna? If you don't respect and believe me then maybe this match will do something to change that." These words and the look in his eyes took Reyna by surprise. He wasn't furious or anything but instead seemed kinda...hurt? Betrayed? Well she was being pretty obvious about not trusting him, right? Should she feel sorry about that? Probably, but she didn't right now, her mind was already working on finding his weak point. This turned out to be very difficult because as she studied him, he uncapped his pen and revealed a sword unlike any other she had ever seen before. It was bronze and longer than hers, glowing with a faded light. Several soldiers backed away from Percy, forming a circle around the two fighters and looking at his sword in suspiciously.

"What…is _that_?" Hazel gasped from behind Reyna. She had stepped back but now got a little forward just to get an eye on the blade Percy held in his hands.

"Anaklusmos." Percy said as if it was the most natural thing in the world, but then he looked lost again for a moment. All of the soldiers present raised their eyebrows.

"That's Greek…" Hazel replied astonished. And Reyna knew that that in itself was a very difficult task to accomplish. She remembered her and Jason making a contest of it. Who would be the first to astonish Hazel? Well, anyway. Hazel's grey eyes were still on the blade and narrowed a little.

"And the material-"

"Would you snap out of it already? I'm having a duel here, okay?" Reyna interrupted Hazel's thoughts.

"And even if he had a sword out of darkness or another deadly material, it doesn't matter because he won't even hit me!" and with these words she leaped forward, going for an opening she'd seen while Percy seemed to be thinking about the thing Hazel wanted to talk about, the material of the sword. Whatever it was, when it clashed against her imperial gold, it stood a very good chance. Apparently, Percy had blocked her stroke with another move, making it look very easy though she had swung two swords at him. His face turned serious now and again, Reyna saw that look in his eyes that reminded her of Jason when she'd spotted it a few minutes ago. But no, this guy was different! Jason was kind and friendly, Percy was just arrogant...right? But she wasn't even able to think about it much because Percy now attacked back. He was able to stroke away her swords with one move and now Reyna noticed how trained his arms were through the sweater he wore. He could probably have a match in arm wrestling against Bob and not even lose _that_ badly. Yet his figure still seemed as if he could also be fast and nimble.

And Reyna's assumption was right. He _was _fast and nimble, moving his sword around as if he had done it for years, keeping up with her two blades effortlessly. Then again the attacks he threw at her still had much force and caused their blades to produce loud metallic sounds when clashing over and over again. Reyna was now also astonished. Not only could he hold his own against her, but he was even fighting back with great skill causing her to get into some scarce situations. And the fighting style he used was also so…different, almost more ancient than hers. And it was so unfamiliar that she wasn't able to foresee his movements as she often did with other soldiers or even monsters.

In the spit of a second, Reyna spotted Dakota's face among the spectators and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the worry there. Now for whom was she worried? Her or Percy? Because both were insults, nothing more. As if it would be a shame if that guy died or as if she could get hurt-

"Ouch!" she squeaked when Percy's sword stroked her arm, cutting through her sweater and then her skin. It seemed as if that hadn't been his intension because he was quickly withdrew his blade, raising his hands towards her arm.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to-" But he was interrupted when Reyna took advantage of the situation and pounced forward, stabbing the golden sword right to his shoulder. It should've mortally wounded him. However, no such thing happened. When the blade cut through his sweater and should have hit the skin, it just didn't. The golden metal bounced away as if it had struck solid steal, unable to pass through it. Instead it sliced up his sweater to shreds.

Apparently, Percy didn't quite care. He was shocked that Reyna had attacked him after being hurt like that and after he'd withdrawn his own blade. What he did next was obviously out of pure instinct. His left hand flew up, knocked away the sword from her right hand at the handle and the shallow side of his blade slashed against her other hand which caused her to drop it as well. The next thing the daughter of Mars knew his bronze blade was pointed at her throat, the two swords lying on the floor and Percy's sea green eyes were staring into hers. Her own brown ones grew wide as well as those of the spectators around them. Hazel was the first to speak again, shaking her head slowly.

"This isn't right. Even if he did have training where ever he came from –which is impossible as well-, a son of Neptune should never be able to beat Reyna. She's the daughter of Mars who only comes second to Jupiter. Neptune is far out of his league, even though he's Jupiter's brother…Plus, she has been here for five years, perfectly trained with the sword…" she kept shaking her head, rubbing her thumb and index finger against her chin.

The mentioned son of Neptune lowered his blade and his look changed from solid and angry to a smile of kindness. "Sorry, that was kind of…instinct? No hard feelings but you were pretty harsh yourself. I mean, we could've stopped when I hurt you." He raised an eyebrow and pointed at the wound she had on her forearm. It wasn't very big but bleeding slightly. Reyna just shrugged.

"Oh, that's…okay, I've had several wounds like that before." However, she didn't quite pay attention to what he was saying because she was still examining his completely unhurt shoulder.

"How the hell did you do that just now? I mean, the style is different from what we teach here, especially that last move. And what about your skin, it's like everything bounces off it..." she didn't like it but Percy had been right. The match did slow down her anger, even if it was in a way that nobody expected: She was curious about him. As the daughter of the god of war she always wanted to learn new things about fighting techniques and this guy happened to be a pure treasure chest full of surprises. Sure, he had no memory, but he still was able to fight so it was just like Lupa had said: Someone took away his memories. And were ever these collections of his past were right now, there had to be so much unknown information there that she could spent her lifetime learning it all. His way with the sword, where he trained to fight like that, what metal his sword was made of, how he got that trick on his skin, what other powers he possessed and most importantly: What did he have to do with Jason's disappearance? Because right now, she was so certain that he had something to do with it that even her anger from a few minutes ago was completely gone.

"_You_ are going to follow me somewhere, Percy Jackson!" she suddenly grabbed his arm, taking Percy out of his own thoughts and beckoning to Hazel and Dakota.

"We're going to visit Gwen now." She declared and Hazel seemed immediately content while Dakota made a face but still stepped beside Percy.

"Aww, do we have to? I really hate going into that cave." She sighed and twirled a blond curl around her fingers. Percy watched her while she did this, staring slightly and he almost tripped over his own feet. Oh not again. Dakota always did that to new guys, wanting to seem fragile. Her charisma was so extreme that really always at least one male glance followed her.

"It's not a cave but a temple, Dakota. And you know that it has to be that dark for the Oracle to communicate with her. And now stop confusing him, we need his mind to be well, the memory loss is enough already." Reyna rolled her eyes and looked at the daughter of Venus with an imperious look. The blonde immediately stopped spreading the charm and crossed her arms, turning her head in the other direction.

"Oh come on, you gotta admit he's handsome. And we're going to get your memory back right Percy?" she smiled at him and Percy answered her with something extremely intelligent like "Y-yeah, sure."

It wasn't his fault though. Charm-spreading was Dakota's strength and she was very good at using it on guys, distracting them with it and sometimes just using it to get what she wanted. It wasn't quite like charm speaking because it didn't work on females at all and she didn't have to add power to her voice, it was just how she appeared, smiled and looked. You could describe it as an aura that drove the mind of every male in her reach nuts. When she was honest, Reyna thought of that power to be very scary, at least more than her ability to be nimble and control every single weapon she found. At least you could look her in the eye and have an honest fight.

While their quarrel continued, the little group of soldiers reached a small temple made out of black marble. It emitted a strange feeling, not evil but still spooky. The three girls reached it without hesitation but Percy looked a lot more irritated, hesitating to go further. Hazel behind them pushed him in the back, obviously annoyed.

"Come on, you're the boy here, right? So stop being such a pussy." She hissed and her grey eyes stared holes in Percy's back which seemed to convince him to at least enter the building. As always, Hazel had her way with words.

The building was decorated with pictures of ancient stories, monsters and other creatures fighting demigods, gods or even Titans. Black pillars supported the ceiling and when they stepped inside, a musicalsound was heard that sounded like the things Buddhist monks sang when praying. The group turned around the corner and then immediately stopped in their tracks. A girl with short, dark blonde hair lay on the ground, face first, obviously unconscious. A cassette player stood beside her, the sound of praying monks coming from it. Dakota screamed and clapped the hands to her mouth while Reyna ran to the girl in front of the big statue standing in the middle of the massive hall.

"Gwen! Pluton, what the hell happened here?"

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_Wellll...Roman Oracle! The next chapter will be about that and maybe we'll get an option to get Percy's memory back? We'll see ;P_

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! Please? D:  
**


	14. The Roman Oracle

_June, 11th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Astrid-Elizabeth-Dare_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hi guys and girls! ^^_

_Oh man, you didn't really like that "record" idea with the review, did you? ^^" Yeah okay, that wasn't tactful of me. Sorry about it. But hey, the preview of the Son of Neptune is out and I red it (yes, that's out for some time now but I didn't feel like writing about it here). And you know what? I still like my story. That's rare, really. Normally, when the real version comes out, I freak out about all I did wrong and stop writing. Lucky for you (and for me xD) that didn't happen this time! So you'll still get chapters from me until the story is finished. _

_I got a question for you though: You're well aware of the fact that there's a time difference between the two story lines, right? Well, at some part of the story, there's going to be a time when Percy just stays in the castra and trains a whole lot. Nothing more, just getting to learn the Castra better and train. No real plot there. _

_My question now is, **do you want me to write that out or should I skip until something more thrilling happens there?**_

**Please tell me your answer and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASEEEEE REVIEEEEW! T_T**

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_**Chapter XIV**_

**Percy**

Okay, he didn't like this building. Not only was it spreading that strange atmosphere and reminded him of something that steered bad feelings but now there was also this girl lying on the floor and the other girls were in a panic, leaning over her. While Percy hoped that she was alright he looked around a bit. The girl with short hair had been sitting in front of a statue that showed a very big head with an open mouth. It was a woman with long messy hair and her eyes were made out of some kind of green crystal. Emerald, he assumed. They stared at him with an unfathomable expression that unsettled him. Something between knowledge and absolute madness. It was scary how close these things were to each other sometimes. Suddenly, a cough disturbed the chanting of those monks that could still be heard out of the cassette player. The girl stood up and held her head with one hand. Then she opened her eyes and Percy had to step back immediately because they were the exact same color as the emeralds of the statue. And they even glowed in the dark somehow. _Whoa__, this is strange…_

Gwen, as the girl was called, took a few seconds to process that she was lying on the floor. Then she noticed Percy and squeaked, causing him to jump at the sound.

"W-what?" he asked, staring back at her, still kind of uncomfortable with those green-glowing eyes. He automatically took up a defensive stance.

"It's you." She stated as if she recognized him from somewhere. Okayy…this was becoming more and more insane. He should definitely get out of here now. He didn't know this girl; had barley met her for the first time right now. So how could she just wake up and say "it's you" right in his face? Dakota seemed just as confused and looked from one to another, her expression showed...jealousy? Why the hell was that?

"You know him, Gwen?" she asked offended and crossed her arms, stepping from one foot to the other uncomfortably. Hazel rolled her grey eyes. She had one hand on Gwen's back and stroked across it. She took a little package out of her pocket and handed it over to Gwen who took it and ate a bit of the golden stuff that was wrapped up inside of it. _Ambrosia…_Percy shook his head at the sudden headache that word gave him.

"No, you idiot. She obviously had a vision, that's why she fainted. So the oracle finally spoke to you again, Gwen?" the girl with the golden cubes in hand nodded and now sat up completely on her own. She looked much better now as if she was cured just by eating the golden cubes and gave the package back to Hazel. Her green eyes were still fixed on Percy which freaked him out because the glow was just so unnatural.

"Yeah. After so many days it finally made contact again. I tried so many times the last days, even used this stupid music." She pointed at the cassette player and finally pushed the 'pause'-button. The room fell silent. Now only their voices were heard and the atmosphere seemed a little heavier. Maybe the music did help. Percy wished she would turn it on again. But she didn't and continued staring and talking. Her voice was calm and small but that wasn't that much of a pity in here because the room was so clangorous that they all understood every single word.

"This boy appeared in it. Remember when I told you there would appear someone similar to Jason? This is him, I'm now sure of it." She smiled at the others and Reyna made a gesture of satisfaction, pulling her elbow to her side.

"Yes, I knew it. Okay, I doubted a bit but I dueled him and that convinced me." Gwen raised an eyebrow at those words.

"Why's that?" she asked, obviously not getting the hint. Reyna blushed slightly and looked to the side. She didn't want to say it out load. Percy kept quiet, just so he wouldn't anger her again. Plus, he wasn't quite proud of the victory since he wasn't so keen on fighting people who would normally be comrades. And if he was honest and put aside this crazily strict atmosphere here, he already considered them as something like comrades. Even though a voice in his head wanted to convince him otherwise. It seemed they all had strange powers and abilities that normal humans didn't possess and they all had one parent that was a god. He guessed that couldn't be found often on this planet. So he had to fit in here,… right?

"Well, Percy here beat her up pretty much." Hazel now admitted, smiling at Reyna's embarrassment.

"WHAT? Are you serious? Do you know his godly parent already? Because I know. It's Poseidon, right?" she smiled at Percy after freaking out about the news and the boy nodded more eagerly than he planned to. Why was this name feeling so much more right than this "Neptune" they kept talking about? But Hazel shook her head, eyebrows raised.

"No Gwen, it's Neptune as far as we saw it. He rescued Dakota from a monster in the waves, controlled the waves and didn't get wet. So we assumed-"

"Hazel, I'm aware that the roman term is Neptune but the Oracle clearly said Poseidon. And you know as well as I do that it always knows what it's talking about." She cleared her throat and pushed herself up so she stood in front of Percy. The other girls got up as well and Reyna seemed to think about Gwen's words while Hazel was just sore to be wrong about something.

"Come to think of it…his sword had a Greek name as well and the material was off. What was the name again?" she looked at Percy who didn't even think before answering. It was strange but the things that he did remember all of a sudden remained in his head very well, like he was a sponge, trying to get everything back into place.

"Anaklusmos." He said. "It means Riptide." The translation came naturally, he understood the word just by hearing it. Unfortunately, that made Hazel suspicious.

"Wait a minute… You wanna tell me his father is Poseidon?" Gwen nodded and seemed a little puzzled by Hazel's suspicion. "His sword has a Greek name, he can't speak Latin, he's awfully old for a new demigod and he already knows how to fight with a sword so well that he was able to beat Reyna." She took the place right in front of Percy, walking closer to him with every word. It was very clear that she was deep in thought and even Percy could tell that she didn't like to be interrupted while doing so. Suddenly, she backed away, gaze pointing to the floor and her fingers played with one of her strands of hair that had gotten loose from her ponytail.

"But this doesn't make any sense! It's not possible for any Greek demigods to exist. After all, the gods nowadays all have Roman form and the old religion faded. The Greeks were weaklings, it's only understandable. And it's obvious he couldn't be Greek, he seems pretty strong…Plus, we weren't quite friendly with the Greeks and neither was Lupa. Why would she even let him attend the test let alone show him our Castra?"

Reyna cleared her throat and tapped Hazel on the shoulder. Hazel looked up and gave her a freaky, almost deadly look but Reyna didn't even flinch. Percy had to give her some credit, that girl really was_ some_ brave soldier. He got the feeling he would never get there. And why was he so offended by Hazel calling the Greeks weaklings? Did he know any Greeks?

"Hazel, would you stop already? This is bizarre to all of us but since Lupa told us to just trust him and give him the instructions, we should do as she asked. Besides, I brought him here because I hoped Gwen would have a way to get his memories back." She looked at the green eyed girl and Hazel seemed to calm down a little. Gwen still stared at Percy –he really didn't like her eyes though they also seemed so familiar- before she finally spoke again.

"I guess there's only one way to try. And it's dangerous. In the worst case, it could kill you. You still wanna try?" Percy's sea green eyes stared into hers and he got that feeling again, that he'd seen these eyes before. They were knowing and yet so full of pain…

What was he supposed to say? Either he stayed away from his old memories and started a life here, in the stiff Roman camp for Demigods or he tried this dangerous way to get them back and possibly get killed…

* * *

_Sooo...difficult choice :/ What'll he do? Will it work? We'll see :3 And yes, there is a Roman oracle. How could there not be? How was Jason supposed to know the prophecy then? XDD There has to be one, I'm completely sure. I guess it's like they divided her spirit or something? Gwen isn't really the oracle itself but the connection. So she doesn't possess the spirit like Rachel does. The spirit itself is in the statue she's sitting at. But seriously, wouldn't it be unfair for the Greeks to have a oracle and the Roman not? x_x  
_

**PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW, MY FRIENDS! I don't care if "the others already said what I thought"! Just say it again, every single comment encourages me, really. Even if it's just one word, it really helps. So please? ;_;**


	15. Unhappy Future?

_June, 27th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Why hello there everyone! _

_I know, it's been two weeks T_T And I'm really sorry about that. But I was at another university entrance exam and that one wasn't really the easy kind. Plus, both my beta had stress so I apologize for not being able to upload ^^ _

_As you may have noticed, I enabled the _Anonymous Reviews_. **SO REVIEW! You have no excuse of not having an account any more XD**_

_Plus, I got a present for you. This was actually done a long time ago but I didn't know if I want you all to know that I'm also present on this other website called ...well, I'm going to convince now; I have an account there and I'm actually pretty active when it comes to Percy Jackson stuff atm. _

_So here you go, a picture of how the Roman girls are supposed to look like (sort of): http: / / kat-anni . deviantart . com / gallery / # / d395fug_

_Of course, you have to delete the spaces...XD Am I even allowed to post links here? Meh, I don't know, I'm tired (It's 11:30 pm here and I have to work tomorrow). Pls tell me if it's against the rules or something, then I'll just edit my user name and you can go search for yourself XD Btw, Bobby looks pretty much like Luke does, he just got more muscles and is very stiff and..angry?_

_**Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW! *teary eyes* ;_;**  
_

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_**Chapter XV**_

**Annabeth**

The first thing Annabeth noticed was how eerily dark it was in here. The second thing she noticed was the giant decoration thing, which she crashed into upon entering Rachel's cave.

"Hades, why is this placed in the entrance?", she cursed, thankful that she was invisible so no one had seen her trip. After the pain in her knee subsided a bit, she carefully touched the wall and walked along it, a hand stretched out in front of her. She would've turned on the lights, but those observant enough in the dining hall would see, and she'd be in trouble with Rachel…not that it bothered Annabeth much. The daughter of Athena had been fighting with the redhead even before she became the Oracle. Thinking back, their petty quarrels were mainly over Percy, hiding the fact that they were scared that he liked the other girl. But in the end, Rachel became the Oracle – so no more dating – and Percy had wanted Annabeth anyways. So everyone was happy, until he vanished off the face of the earth. It didn't just ruin things for her; it threw the entire camp out of balance.

On the day after he didn't come out of his cabin, there was supposed to be a game of Capture the Flag. Usually, everyone was excited, making last minute alliances, planning out battle maneuvers – but without him, the campers had been the opposite; some even suggested cancelling it. Plus, Festus (as he was now named, thanks to Leo) was still out there in the forest back then, going haywire. However, Chiron wanted them to train because "whatever Percy got himself into, you can't just stop training; in fact, you need more training now." Of course, he didn't exactly seem happy either, but he was right, even if the game was played half-heartedly by practically everyone. Well, except the Ares cabin, who took opportunity and slaughtered the rest of camp. But they weren't celebrating the victory as much as they normally would, choosing not to rub it in everyone's face.

Shaking her head, Annabeth brought her thoughts back to the present, trying to navigate through the darkness. After a few more encounters with Rachel's decorations, she managed to reach the largest hole in this massive cave, switching on the lights. Oh, not electric lights. The Hecate cabin had had a contest on who could make the best lighting system for this cave, and now Rachel had pretty pairs of giant fireflies swirling around her ceiling, reacting to a switch on the wall that sent them some kind of signal. The Hecate campers insisted it was magic; Annabeth was positive it used sound.

When those two magic animals lit up the room, Annabeth's breathing stopped for a moment. The daughter of Athena had been in here before, but the last time, there hadn't been that many paintings. And most important of all: not so many of Percy.

All around the wall of the big room, even on the bed, laid paintings roughly and messily jotted down with oil or acrylic paint. Empty paint containers were everywhere as well, and Annabeth nearly stepped in the pile of cans which were still full. Some of the paintings showed Jason, which Rachel had shown the daughter of Athena when Jason, Piper, and Leo were on their quest. The one she liked most was of a scene in a cave, a blonde boy and a black haired girl hugging each other. Their faces were hard to make out at first, but Annabeth and Rachel had noticed Thalia's spiky hair right on the spot.

But there were a lot of pictures Annabeth hadn't seen before. Some showed Jason when he was young; on one of them, there was a big she-wolf with glowing brown fur and silver eyes. Annabeth immediately identified this wolf as Lupa, goddess of wolves and as far as she was informed, the instructor at Roman Camp. _She doesn't look very friendly..._Annabeth concluded with a slight shiver. There were also some scenes she couldn't quite make out because the point of view was too far away. One of them showed a snowy landscape, probably a mountain, and a column of smoke in the distance. A little group of people was struggling to walk towards it in the heavy storm.

The mentioned pictures of Percy were puzzling the blonde warrior even more. The one where he was sitting on a hammock in a dark room and staring at his necklace of beads was probably from the vision Rachel had had of him in a dark room. Then there was a seemingly confused Percy, his expression being the one she laughed at whenever she went off on an architecture rant to him, together with the she-wolf from the other picture. They were standing on a clearing covered with snow, and a trace in the ground told Annabeth that for whatever reason, Percy had dropped over right to the ground. She assumed that it probably wasn't to make a snow angel.

But the one that almost knocked her off her feet was a big painting standing right beside Rachel's bed on a scaffold. The canvas was at least as tall as Annabeth, and her gray eyes couldn't stop staring at it. A giant serpent was making up most of the picture, standing out of some large body of water, obviously gigantic and creating unnaturally large waves. If she hadn't personally encountered one, she would guess it was the Hydra, except for the fact that it only had one head. A kid in a purple shirt sat on top of the monster's head, which irritated the daughter of Athena. Wasn't that the color of the Roman demigods? But then this didn't make any sense...

Because in front of the monster, at the shores of the unsettling water, there were more purple-wearing teenagers. The brown-haired girl was about to attack the monster, two swords in her hands. Another one seemed to shoot the monster with something, while the third one could be seen farther away, also struggling with the big creature. They were barely keeping it busy, and Annabeth could tell that they were in serious trouble. To make things worse, two other girls were kneeling down on the floor, next to a boy that lay on the ground. She now knew why Rachel didn't want her to see this picture.

It was Percy.

His jet-black hair was covering his face so she couldn't make out his eyes. But his necklace was visible, so there was no doubt it was him. He was lying on his back, arms and legs stretched out beside him in awkward positions. He also wore a purple shirt, but it was already pretty torn and ruined, and under his back, there came forward a red liquid, definitely blood. The two girls beside Percy showed concern in their faces and one of them seemed to try and heal him – a daughter of Apollo, possibly. But Annabeth knew, if he was really hit in _that _spot…if something cut through his skin there, he…he would…

The blonde demigod stared at the painting in horror. Her hands flew to her mouth and she didn't even notice her baseball cap falling off her head. Anybody could've seen her like that now, and she stood there just like she was, in the middle of Rachel's cave, staring at the seemingly dead figure that was Percy. This couldn't be…he couldn't just…die! Not when he didn't remember her, not when she wasn't able to see him again, not when...oh gods, he was only 16! Percy had always been one of those heroes who lived through anything and everything. Just look at his past: they survived fighting Kronos, they both survived the Labyrinth, he survived the eruption of a volcano, and he even survived visiting the Underworld three times! Annabeth had always worried about this in the back of her mind, with all the monsters attracted to his son-of-Poseidon scent and such, but she pushed it farther back each time it resurfaced. Her mother would scold her for not being reasonable, but the thought of him dying had always been bad, even back then in the year they met, when she hated him for his father. Even then, she risked her life to get him out of this bus full of monsters, and feared for _his _life when he jumped off the arch in St. Louis. He couldn't just _die_ now, right? Not after he survived through that much. Not when she had taken a knife for him, luckily protecting his Achilles spot. He must've been hit there; that's what the blood under his body showed, right?

Annabeth was so deep in thought that she didn't notice how time passed. Dinner was long finished, and if she had been paying attention, she would've heard the voices of all campers singing at the campfire. Suddenly, when she had sank to the floor because her legs wouldn't carry her anymore, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I told you, you shouldn't see it." Rachel was standing behind Annabeth, puzzling the daughter of Athena completely. Wasn't she supposed to– oh. The blonde noticed her baseball cap lying beside her and sighed, practically collapsing to the floor. She didn't even have tears in her eyes; she was too stunned for that.

"I-I'm sorry, I just wanted to-"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand. I was pretty much the same once I got a good look at what I painted. Just calm down before we talk, okay?" The redhead sat on the floor right beside Annabeth and pulled her knees closer to her body. A few moments of silence followed in which neither of them talked. Annabeth wiped a single tear from her eye and sniffed, but then she was silent, still staring at the painting. Rachel decided to speak, figuring that the daughter of Athena had finally gotten past the initial shock.

"You know, I thought about what you said. This picture may seem very obvious, but deep inside, I still hope you could be right. The strange thing is, I don't normally get such clear visions. Mostly, they're from farther away, and you can barely make out anybody. There's something wrong about it. Now we just have to find out what…" Rachel put her fingers to her chin and moved her mouth from one side to another. She didn't even seem mad with Annabeth for sneaking in her cave. Now she just sat there on the floor and looked at the painting with a thoughtful expression. The blonde beside her raised an eyebrow and studied her quizzically, returning her focus to the painting.

"I don't know…I want to think that too, obviously! I mean, of course I don't want him to die, I'd do anything to prevent it. But who could sent you a vision besides Apollo? Do you think Gaea has such a power?" She was frightened by that. If Gaea could send them false prophecies…what could she fool them into doing?

"No…no I think I would sense if it came from her. I mean, she's evil and all." The Oracle rolled her green eyes, managing to make a small smile form on Annabeth's face.

"Maybe you're right. All I can do is hope that this picture isn't what it seems." She sighed, staying silent for a while before looking back at Rachel. "Thanks for not being mad at me. I guess I owe you one." She punched the redhead lightly on the arm, forcing her knees to stop shaking so she could stand up properly. The Oracle just grinned and stood up as well, brushing the dirt off her torn-up jeans.

"Of course you do! Well, what do you think of the other paintings? They kinda are a collection by now. I try to keep them all in sight; they help me think."

And so followed a very long discussion about Jason, the Roman Camp, Hera, Lupa, and of course, Percy.

Annabeth tried to hide her feelings as best as possible; no one needed to know how badly she was affected by Percy being gone. But after she decided she really needed to get back to her cabin – the horn had been blown a while ago, but invisibility caps are quite convenient – she really wanted to take a shower. Not because she felt dirty, but because she needed alone time. Besides, she didn't have a very good answer to all of her half-siblings' questions, "Where have you been?" "Why didn't you come for supper?" et cetera.

When everyone else gave up and finally went to sleep, Annabeth climbed into her bed, put on her pajamas, and just dropped dead on to her bunk. But it wasn't that easy; she couldn't sleep…again. Of course not. Not after seeing that picture. So when she finally fell to a slight slumber, the sun already threw her light above the waves of Long Island.

But the demigod was jolted awake from her nightmares when strange noises found their way to her ears, a dark shadow looming over her…

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_Tadaaaa, Cliffy *g* I tend to do this, I know. But it's SO much fun 8D It's going to become even more thrilling from now on 8D_

**Hope you liked it! Pleeeeeeaaaaaase REVIEW and tell me what you think! ;_;**


	16. Prophecy

_July, 4th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Why hello there everyone! _

_It seems like even though my betas don't have school any more we still just manage one chapter a week x_x And this one is so short...I'm sorry about that.  
_

_But the prophecy tells pretty much to you so it's a fair balance, I guess XD This was chapter 17 first but I changed it so you don't have to wait two weeks again. I'm generous, hu? ;D_

_**EDIT:** Btw. Forgot to tell you: I'm not going to be there for a week starting this Friday. I'll go camping 8D Yay. So...enjoy this one, there's going to be a little pause xP  
_

_GUYS! I was so disappounted T_T Only 5 reviews? That chapter was so long and took me so much time and sweat to write and you just ignore it? Come ooon, I need those reviews, I feed on them, seriously! When I got hardly any on the last one I even thought about stopping this publish (don't misunderstand me, I'd still write but I won't show you any more), it only brings me stress and when nobody cares what I write anyway, why continue? So come on, it's really not that difficult to write a few lines or maybe just one, I'd be fine with that! _

_**So PLAESE, REVIEW! YOU DON'T WANT ME TO STOP, DO YOU? T_T**  
_

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**_Chapter XVI_**

**Annabeth**

"Woah!" she screamed, and almost banged her head into whatever was looming over her. She had been woken abruptly, and she wasn't too pleased with it. Who the heck would creep up on her in the middle of the night? A monster? Wait, no, this voice…

"No, Annabeth, don't kill me please!" a very familiar voice screeched. The person covered his lone eye with two very big hands. _No way…_

"I told you not to wake her. She would've seen us by breakfast. Man, why isn't she up yet, anyway?" another familiar voice added. Wait…they couldn't be here already, right? And even if they were, why come to her cabin? This was totally embarrassing!

"We didn't want to disturb her this early in the morning…she might attack us, and I'm pretty sure we all value our lives," Malcolm answered harshly, obviously not content with the two other people being in their cabin. As always, her overprotective brother wanted her to sleep in, so she could get some rest, and avoid the crankiness that would probably come otherwise. He was really sweet that way, but that wasn't the point right now. Finally, she decided to raise her own voice and put an end to this pointless conversation.

"Okay, stop! All of you." The blonde interrupted them, slowly sitting up while rubbing her eyes. She was freaking tired! When her grey eyes were able to open up again, she yawned and looked at the two boys standing next to her bed. They weren't exactly fitting into the library-like look of Athena's cabin.

"Seriously, guys, don't I deserve a little sleep?" She gave them a fake evil stare and tossed her blanket aside, putting her feet to the floor. The Cyclops, Tyson, who was in fact the one who woke her, stepped from one foot to the other nervously. He obviously took her glare seriously, and was now afraid of her being mad at him.

"You looked like you were having bad dreams. Wanted to get you out. We're here to help build flying ship! I brought Briares, he's already in the woods with the flame boy." He tapped his two index fingers together and looked at the floor, gesturing flames to symbolize Leo. Grover, the other visitor, just grinned and took a step forward, hugging the breath out of the blonde.

"Good to see you, Annabeth. And don't worry, I'm sure we'll find him." It was a short statement, but Annabeth got his point; her emotions were so out of control that Grover probably could've sensed them from the other side of camp. She sighed and returned the hug, comforted by the friendly arms holding her. It had been the same with Thalia, and Grover had shared so many more experiences with Percy; he was his best friend. She was also excited to see him again since last summer. Finally, she managed an answer.

"Yes, I know that…And Tyson, no worries. I'm not angry at you. Actually, thanks for waking me; I_ was_ having nightmares." She held her forehead and dropped back onto her bed, her eyes closing, heavy shadows underneath them. After a moment of silence, the realization of what their arrival really meant sunk in, and she tried to brush away the thought about her bad dream.

Looking up again, Annabeth asked, "Why are you here this early? I assumed you'd be here tomorrow, at the earliest." She took a brush from her nightstand and tried to tame her messy curls while listening to the explanations of her friends. Grover said that he got help by a nature spirit he befriended, who had connections.

And Tyson explained that his father had sent him a fast method of transportation. When Annabeth asked if Tyson was sure it was really Poseidon –after all, the gods were closed up on Olympus-, Tyson nodded; it was Rainbow who brought him. Again, Annabeth smiled a little, and then told them to wait outside so she could dress and get ready for breakfast.

She still wasn't fully awake, and the thoughts of yesterday night started to come back at her as she stood in the bathroom. Her hands leaned on the sink as she stared at her reflection. What was she supposed to do… she couldn't tell everyone about Rachel's vision, right? It would send the entire camp into the panic that they were all suppressing at the moment. She herself was sleepless because of it and it wouldn't help if the others lost hope. She wasn't about to just give up, but this picture…it was a serious blow to her hopes…No! She shouldn't think that way, never! Percy was too young to die, and she wouldn't let him! And that monster in the picture as well...if she was right about what she thought it was, if Gaea was really able to awaken something that powerful again, they would all be doomed.

On that happy note, she made her way down to the dining hall, hungrier than she had realized. And though her stomach was still sick from yesterday, she forced herself to eat plenty of food. The blonde had a feeling that this would be the last meal at camp for a while, and she couldn't concentrate on finding Percy if her stomach was growling.

After the meal, most of the campers left, but Annabeth didn't leave the pavilion. She joined Rachel and Grover at the head table, quickly followed by Thalia. The hunter looked fresh and awake as always, her dark makeup already on, as she glowed with Artemis's blessing.

"Hey, guys. How're the plans? Are we leaving today?" Thalia asked the rest of the people at the table. Chiron was talking to a tired Rachel, both looking concerned, but they stopped at Thalia's question. Annabeth was the one to answer, because she already had a plan.

"Well, maybe, but at most, not until tonight. We still have to introduce Tyson and the others to Bunker 9, and a lot of us still have to pack our stuff. That will take some time. And have we cleared everything about the jet? And most importantly, we can't go without a prophecy. I'd_ like_ to leave immediately, but unfortunately, that won't happen, right, Chiron?" She smiled at her teacher and the centaur nodded reassuringly in response.

"You're right, as always, Annabeth. Without a prophecy, I won't let you leave. And as far as Rachel could tell me-"

But he was interrupted as Rachel suddenly collapsed. Grover, who was sitting next to her, was fast enough to reach out and catch her. The green smoke that came out of her mouth, however, seemed to freak him out, and he looked ready to drop the Oracle out of fear. As the pavilion quickly quieted, everyone stared at Rachel and waited for her to speak, curious as to what she would say. Then, Rachel's voice changed to an ancient whisper, and her eyes opened, glowing in bright green.

_"__With your journey comes a treacherous friend,_

_The weakest spot brings one to their end._

_As love is found, flames are released,_

_The mother laughs as your goal is reached.__"_

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_Dudun...yeah, that's the prophecy. Good / bad? Tell me :D I think it's pretty dark and that's exactly what it's supposed to be *muhaha* Special thanks to_ Carter Lee Grace_ for the prophecy :3  
_

_**Really hope you like it, as always, REVIEW PLEEEEASE! D:**_


	17. Explanations and Hatred

_July, 22th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hey there! I know it's been an eternity since the last chapter and I'm very sorry about that. But at the moment, _Carter Lee Grace_ is the only beta helping me (and I thank her so much for that *hug*) and because I just came back from camping and am off to Sweden tomorrow, my life isn't exactly free from stress. Yes, I got accepted a an university but still, now I have to search for a place to live and stuff. BUT I found my time to write something for you guys anyway! ^^ _

_I'll have time to write in Sweden though, it's really quiet and peaceful. :3 Btw, sorry for the time of update, it's probably the middle of the night for you but I have to stand up at 5 o' clock tomorrow so we won't have the full stress on the autobahn. Meaning that I have to go to bed early and a lot of packing left to do.  
_

_Last time I complained about the little amount of reviews I get. Let's say there was someone who shook me back into reality and told me that complainers are losers and at this side, you can't really await a serious amount of reviews on not-serious stories like this one is. So alright, no complaining any more. _

_**Still, it'd be nice if you left a review, I'd be happy to read something when I get back in two weeks :)**_

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**_Chapter XVII_**

**Percy**

It wasn't a difficult choice. The emptiness in his head bothered him to such an extreme that he'd do _anything_ to make it go away. So maybe he'd discover that he was evil, or that he was an alien freak from another planet – to be honest, it didn't matter.

"Yes, I will. But on one condition," he said, gesturing around at the building and the girls before him. "I have a lot of questions, and I want you to answer them. You're freaking out over me, and how 'strange' I am, while I stand here clueless as you talk right over my head. Before you explain, I'm not going anywhere." He stubbornly crossed his arms, because this time he wasn't going to back away. They always wanted something from him; why shouldn't he be allowed to ask for a simple explanation? Gwen raised an eyebrow at his demand and glared at the girls around her.

"So basically, you didn't even introduce yourself, but told him where we are here and what happened with Jason? That's not like you, girls!" The three others lowered their gaze, and Gwen sighed. "Very well. I understand your worry over the situation, but you should've been a little more considerate to _Percy's_ feelings. Come on, we're going somewhere more pleasant. Agreed?" The last part was directed at Percy again and he nodded, finally smiling with contentment.

All five demigods left the black building, with Reyna in the lead as she obviously always was. Gwen and Dakota walked on either side of Percy while Hazel argued with Reyna over something or another. As soon as the black marble was far behind them, Percy was taken aback at the change Gwen went through. Her green eyes dimmed down to a usual green, her hair lost color until it was almost grey, and her personality seemed to change. She smiled more and giggled at what Dakota said, even jumped a little while walking. Percy really wondered what this whole Oracle business they kept talking of was about.

The group stopped when they reached a clearing that opened right up to the ocean. They had been walking away from the beach where Percy had fought Reyna, but the whole camp seemed to be located in an area full of beaches and cliffs, like the one they were standing at now. Percy wasn't particularly thrilled to see it, considering the chasm that Lupa had asked him to jump off of. Right now, he was simply enjoying how the sunlight hit the now calm waves, and how the mist was not as thick around here. They sat down on some stones near the cliffs, and Percy made sure to find one facing the ocean, the forest stretching out behind him. Somehow, the view kept him at ease.

"So," Reyna began when they all settled down, "I introduce you to our favorite meeting place. Our group often gathers here during rare training pauses. In this camp, it's rare for groups with members that don't have the same godly parents to form, such as ours. Lupa normally doesn't allow that. We're kind of an exception because we all belong to the first legion, and teamwork is important in a small group like we are. I guess that's why she let us be. You're presently located at the Castra Roma, Legion for Demigods and the only safe training place for us. As for the legion system…it's quite simple: survival of the fittest. First legion has the strongest fighters and naturally, the strongest among them is the leader. In our case, that was Jason, a son of Jupiter." Again, this Jason guy. An uncomfortable silence lay over the group, and everyone averted their eyes to blankly stare out at the horizon, or somewhere in the forest. Percy now slowly understood why there was such a fuss about him: he was the strongest in camp, and had disappeared. No wonder everyone was so stiff. Or was it always like this? His thoughts were interrupted as Reyna continued.

"Anyways, the other legions are weaker in skill, but greater in numbers. Some soldiers challenge us at some time to enter the first legion, but that's very rare. They have to defeat our praetor, Jason, and that is _not_ easy. Right now, I'm praetor, so you'd have to defeat me…which you technically already did." She smiled at him slightly.

"However, this summer, something strange happened. We suddenly got almost fifty new campers, mostly the children of minor gods that had never appeared at camp before. So we added a sixth legion to the original five, and that's where those mostly land. They're not that important though, and I doubt you'll end up there, considering how strong you already are." She smiled as if that was something good, but Percy was suddenly mad about it, for some reason. Not important? Why did that choice of words anger him that much? His fingers curled into a fist, but nobody around seemed to notice his discomfort as Reyna continued with introductions.

"As I already told you, I'm Reyna Guerra, daughter of Mars, god of war and patron of tent 5, and second in command of the first legion. This is Hazel Noctua, daughter of the goddess of wisdom, Minerva, from tent 4, and the brain of our legion, as we like to call her."

"Hey!" Hazel protested, but she still grinned while doing so. It wasn't a surprise to Percy, considering her attitude from before. The goddess of wisdom was Athena, right? But he didn't say it out loud, because he didn't want to raise the suspicion against him.

"You also met Dakota Bellia, daughter of Venus –tent 6– and obviously, our beauty." Dakota waved, winking at Percy, and he quickly glanced away so he didn't get all caught up by her again.

"And this is-"

"I'm Gwendolyn, just Gwen for you! I'm daughter of Apollo –tent 7- and the most current connection to the Oracle. So to speak, most of my siblings are able to connect, but I'm at the moment the most capable, so I see the future and stuff like that. I was so worried that the connection had faded, but I was _so_ happy when it returned today! Ah, and I'm also the medic," she finally finished, after a rush of words. Percy was hardly able to keep up, because her words flowed into each other and came out like one big word. He had been right about her personality change; her voice had been so calm and quiet before.

And so that's what it was – that _statue_ was the Oracle. Okay, that explained a lot. And was he imagining things, or was she excited? Her eyes were constantly on him, watching his every move. He hoped that was just because she saw him in a vision; it must be pretty odd to be able to see the future. Well, if that was actually possible. He quickly shook off the thought and nodded.

"Okay, so that answered a lot. I only have one more: who's this Jason guy, exactly? You're all upset about his disappearance and want to believe that I'm similar to him. How do you know?" He looked around and as he expected, all of the girls sighed and their change in mood was quite evident. The first one who was able to speak again was Gwendolyn.

"Well, it was three days ago. A day after the oracle stopped connecting to me. I knew something was up since it wasn't giving me any visions…as if someone was holding it back. Then, that one night when we were all preparing the Castra for the upcoming storm, Jason disappeared from his tent with a big flash of light. Even all his stuff was gone, as if he never existed. The entire camp was thrown into a state of confusion, and everyone wanted to go search for him, especially us, as his friends. We got caught trying to escape, and Lupa was very mad, telling us not to try it again and that there was a reason for this, blah blah. Of course, _now_ we know the reason." She paused, again talking way too quickly for Percy. Then she smiled a little and sat forward, leaning closer to the boy. Why was he so freaked out about her stare?

"But you know, I believe –and I think I'm not the only one- that your appearance and your memory loss has something to do with this thing that happened to Jason. You're not quite like the other campers we get. They're mostly young, slim, and untrained, have no clue of mythology, and especially not of fighting." The daughter of Apollo studied him closely, and Percy gulped a little when he noticed the other girls did as well. Suddenly, he stood up, feeling the urge to get away from here.

"Look, why don't we just get on with this whole memory thing?" he managed to spit out of his far too dry throat. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden? He didn't know this Jason guy, and still, they all kept looking at him like he was about to rip off a mask and yell, "It's me, Jason, surprise!"

He didn't like it. Honestly, he felt like they were trying to replace this "Jason" with _him_. And with this empty head, it wasn't even like he could argue that he wasn't the one they expected him to be. Who was he? Was he strong, was he good, evil, and where did that sword come from and why was he acting so normally about these things that happened here? They were telling him impossible things, things that just couldn't be real. So why was he swallowing it as if he was used to it? He needed his memories back, this wasn't going to get them anywhere!

The four girls looked at him funny, and Reyna obviously wanted to say something, when another person entered the meadow from behind Percy. The teenager winced when he heard the deep voice that had told him to stop fighting Reyna, this muscular guy from before.

"Hey guys, you have to come and see- what in Pluto is this jerk doing here?" He glared at Percy in hatred, and Dakota was the first to speak, smiling in a way that made Percy look away from her again.

"We were showing him around, and explained some things that we probably should have earlier. In my opinion, he's very interesting…" She giggled and winked at him. Unfortunately, that didn't quite seem to calm down the anger of the muscular guy. He looked at Reyna now, obviously addressing only her.

"As a new guy, he's supposed to enter the sixth legion; you know the rules, Reyna!" He glared at Percy as if he had some infectious disease. Reyna sighed and stood up between Percy and the other guy.

"Bob, calm down. I'm not going to let him enter 6thlegion, even if he _is _new. You saw him beat me, right? That wasn't anything like a new recruit." Bob –so that was his name- wasn't convinced. He seemed to get angrier, his muscles tensed as he gritted his teeth. What was up with him? It wasn't as if Percy had done anything to him!

"But that was probably just luck! He came out of the water; I bet he's just a son of Fons and got lucky standing at the beach! Look at him, he's wearing a necklace! Children of strong gods look nothing like him. They're far more disciplined and would never defy Lupa like he did!" He gestured towards Percy, and the green eyed boy glared back. Okay, this guy obviously didn't like him. Well, okay. Percy wasn't a big fan of his attitude either, telling him to stop fighting and to follow all orders, but why should he? Plus, why were all these people so damn proud about their discipline? Reyna was seething now. Percy found it quite terrifying how her temper seemed to flow around her like a visible aura, like the time she had attacked him. And although Reyna was far smaller than Bob, the big guy backed away a little when those brown eyes glared at him like that.

"Bob! What's up with you? Don't you see how I could never throw a son of Neptune in the sixth legion? He's obviously strong, which we'll be able to prove once he gets his memory back, which we were about to do. And to get this straight, _I'm_ in command here, and I am thinking about asking Lupa to send him in our legion! Any other would just be a waste of time for him, and you know it. We could use a good sword fighter, especially now that Jason vanished! Oh, and don't think I don't know how jealous you are of Jason, even if you guys are good friends. I bet it's the same with Percy; you just can't deal with him getting all the attention on his very first day. Calm down already, _OKAY_?"

Bob's eyes widened as Reyna yelled at him, and for a few seconds, he was too stunned to speak. It was obvious even to Percy that those two normally got along very well, and Bob seemed to be frustrated that she took Percy's side and not his. He opened his mouth to talk back to Reyna, but was interrupted by a certain daughter of Minerva.

"Shut up! Both of you! Sorry, Reyna, but that's enough. We all know that you're stressed, but you're not the only one here. We all miss Jason, but you don't have to project your anger on Percy _or _Bobby! And you, Bob." She paused and glared at him, arms now crossed, apparently unfazed by his strong appearance. Percy got the feeling that Hazel wasn't afraid of anything, like Reyna. "You know what? I agree with Reyna that Percy doesn't belong in sixth legion. I hate to admit it, because like my mother, I'm not exactly fond of Neptune or his children, but I'd really like to know more about him. Look at it this way: I've got a strong feeling that he's the key to finding Jason. Even Gwen said so; she had a vision about him. We should let him try, and if he's too weak, we can still throw him out again. Agreed? Good. Because now we've got to help him regain his memory."

She didn't even wait for Bobby's reaction before stomping over to Percy, grabbing his wrist, and dragging him along behind her. Percy blinked rapidly, looking back at Reyna in confusion. The daughter of Mars was also stunned for a moment, but then smiled at his expression and followed Hazel, and so did Dakota and Gwendolyn.

Where was she dragging him to anyway? Once again, he had no idea, but he _did_ know that it wasn't going to be fun. He felt pain when he tried to remember a tiny bit of his past; what would happen to his head when he got everything back at once? He _really_ didn't want to know…

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_SO, how do you like it? I know, not a very useful chapter but it has to be explained at some time xD. Gwen is a really mysterious character but there's a reason for that, it'll be revealed later. Also, this turned out rather long compared to the other ones! ^^ Feet on it in the long time you won't see me *muhaha* Hope you enjoyed reading this! See ya in two weeks ;P_


	18. Message from Way down

_August, 5th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Surprise, I'm back!_

_Ah, I missed you all, two weeks without internet and civilisation are hard but also very relaxing xD Sweden was sweet but I'm enjoying to be back in Germany now. I managed to write some chapters even though I had no dictionary so I need to fix some things now^^. Does somebody want to help me and has much free time atm? Carter Lee Grace and me need some backup, probably just temporary but so that we can make a faster job for everyone. I have many chapters finished but it's kinda stuck in the beta phase so if anyone can offer proper English and much free time, please tell me, write a review or a note to me :)_

_I'm glad about all the reviews I've got (17, respect xo) but I ain't starting to beg you for more. I'm going to see if you leave some and enjoy if you do :). So, new chapter, actually something with a little bit of action in it. And thanks for all the praise I've got, that warms my heart xo. Of course I can also take critique so please go ahead and tell me what you dislike XD_

_**Please enjoy!  
**_

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**_Chapter XVIII_**

**Annabeth**

As the green smoke slowly began to die down, the dining pavilion was completely silent. Everyone stared at Rachel, who was currently snapping out of the trance left by the spirit of the Oracle. The quiet was only disturbed by the sound of the low, purple flames flickering in the fireplace, symbolizing the shock and unrest among them. Nobody dared to say a word and as the silence continued, their gazes wandering from Rachel to Chiron to Annabeth.

"This…is bad." Thalia was the first to break the silence. The daughter of Zeus breathed out slowly, and that was when Annabeth realized that she had been holding her own breath as well. She immediately tried to gasp for air but ended up coughing a bit. Styx…this wasn't good. Everybody was staring at her, and her own feelings boiled up inside like magma in a volcano that was about to erupt.

Every single one of those lines told her something bad. Friends that would betray her, flames that would burn down something important, The mother –Gaea, obviously- laughing , which was never good, and last but not least…the second line was what struck her the most. _The weakest spot brings one to their end. _The only hero she knew who had such a physical weak spot was…w-was Percy.

Then Rachel's vision really was true. Was that what the prophecy wanted to tell her?

Her grey eyes met Rachel's green ones, and it was obvious that the other girl was thinking the exact same thing…

"Annabeth, perhaps you should consider-"

"It's okay, Chiron. We…we all know that those prophecies often mean something else. Let's go and tell the others we'll leave as soon as possible." She tried to sound as emotionless as she could, which was very difficult, but she was experienced in this, glaring at anybody who was about to protest.

As she stood up, trying to keep her knees from shaking and her thoughts from racing, she was followed by Rachel, Thalia, and Grover who walked down the hill beside her. They all were silent, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate any interruption of her thoughts right now. Annabeth was glad about that. It wasn't until they reached the edge of the forest that the blonde spoke up, her voice as stable as she could make it.

"Rachel, do you think it was about the-"

"Yes. I guess so. Though I hope we're both wrong," the Oracle interrupted the daughter of Athena, her gaze following the ground below her as they walked into the forest. Thalia raised an eyebrow, and Grover also seemed puzzled. What did those two know that they didn't?

"Er…Annabeth? I hope you don't mind me asking but what in Hades are you two talking about?" Thalia fingered her bracelet nervously, equally as confused as the satyr, both of them wanting an explanation. Grover had the feeling that some things had happened here that he had no clue about, but Annabeth didn't answer – at least, not very clearly.

"I…I can't tell you that. Maybe later, but not now. Just hope we're wrong." She sighed and waved her hand at the question, as if dismissing it. The daughter of Zeus wanted to ask more, but as they walked deeper into the forest, she suddenly got a bad feeling. A shiver went down her spine, and she turned her head to her best friend as the four of them stopped walking. Grover seemed to sniff around while his eyes became slits and he looked around in panic. That was never a good sign.

"Hey, Annabeth, do you also feel like…"

"…we're being watched? Yeah." Her grey eyes narrowed, and as Thalia's fingers flew to her bracelet and transformed into her shield, Annabeth pulled out her dagger. Grover seemed to catch his breath again and got out his reed pipe. Rachel sighed.

"Oh, that's just my luck. we're attacked in the forest right after I spew out a prophecy, and I'm not armed. Great. As if this could become any worse." She tried to take shelter behind Thalia, whom she obviously took for the strongest at the moment. Though she avoided being _too_ close, hopefully safe from her electric shocks.

"Show yourself! We don't know how you got here, but stop hiding!" the daughter of Zeus shouted out loud, her spare hand at her leg, ready to pull out either her spear, bow and arrow, or her hunting knives.

And out of the shadows, a dog appeared. It was bigger than normal dogs, and its teeth could definitely give you a severe wound: a hellhound. They all tightened their grips around their weapons as they saw the monster, prepared to destroy it like they had beaten several others in the past.

But despite their expectations, the hellhound wasn't aggressive. He winced and kneeled down in front of them, dropping a piece of paper that was probably intended to be rolled up into a scroll. Then he laid himself on the ground and looked up to them, as if he was expecting a "you've done well" for fetching the newspaper.

"Okay, this is weird." Rachel stated. They were all a little surprised but Annabeth quickly pulled herself together. Alright, this _was_ weird, even in their world, but maybe the scroll would tell them more. And she had a good guess as to who wrote the message, considering the hellhound, stepping forward cautiously and picking up the scroll.

"Good dog, you did fine. Now stay, I wanna read this." She smiled and then took a few steps backwards again, behind Thalia and Aegis for protection, in case the hellhound decided to get hellhound-like again. Then, she unrolled the scroll and read the words out loud.

"_(Whoever this idiot of a hellhound gave the paper to, hand it to Annabeth.)_

_"Hey guys,_

_"This may come a little unexpected, and I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten a proper messenger…but Mrs. O'Leary and I are very busy down here. I tried to search for Percy, but it's difficult. At least I can tell you he's not dead, or I would've met his soul in the Underworld. Other than that, it's hell down here. Well, ya know, even more than usual. It's as if Tartarus opened up, and all of the monsters aren't staying down there properly. I've been trying to manage everything down here in place of my father, but I'm no god. If I didn't have Bianca in ghost form to cheer me up a little – she has crazy theories about why this happened, and I hope she's wrong – I'd probably join the army of the dead for good. I hope you guys are doing better up there and found a clue about Percy. But considering his luck, he probably got himself into something dangerous again. Send me an update through this hellhound please. I got no time to I-M and seriously, you don't want to see the Underworld right now. A ghost wrote this paper for me so you should probably burn it or something._

_"Wishing you the best from the Underworld,_

_"Nico"_

Annabeth blinked. Oh. Okay, she assumed that Nico was busy and couldn't help them much but this sounded… bad. She really hoped he was alright all by himself. Why was Hades retreating from his godly duties? He never really listened to Zeus, right? She would have to write back when she was on her own, because she needed more information from the son of Hades about the curse and the Styx. Nico had dragged Percy into this curse-thing, so he better knew all the details. She also wanted for the boy to know where Percy really was. After all, the two of them had become really close, once Nico got over his grudge against Percy. You could almost call them brothers, just like Percy and Tyson.

"We should get going and tell the others about the prophecy. I'll answer him later," Annabeth concluded as the other three looked at her quizzically.

"But shouldn't we-" Rachel wanted to protest.

"No. If he says we shouldn't I-M him, we won't. Grover, chain that hellhound to the Hades cabin or something," the blonde interrupted the Oracle.

"Why me?" the satyr argued, backing away from the big ugly dog who looked at him with those angry eyes.

"Well, you can talk to animals, forgot?" Annabeth crossed her arms, her gaze as terrifying as always. And also as always, Grover couldn't argue against the daughter of Athena. He just sighed, told the dog something in dog talk, and created a dog leash with his reed pipe. As soon as he was on his way back to camp, Annabeth turned and walked deeper into the forest again. Rachel and a thoughtful Thalia followed her. The daughter of Zeus was far too quiet for a reaction to that letter, but she seemed to be lost in thought about something.

"What do you think? Gaea opened up Hades, right? Wouldn't it be logical if not only the bad but also the good people were revived?" Annabeth looked over at the Huntress with a raised eyebrow. The blonde had already guessed who Thalia had been thinking of, and she didn't want to get her hopes up too much. She shook her head.

"I wouldn't count on that, Thalia. We still don't know how much power the goddess has, and it's possible that she can control who she brings back to life. So don't get your hopes up; she won't return. Even Nico knows that now." She smiled sadly at the memory. Sure, she wasn't there when she died, but it was still strange to hear about it. Especially for Nico, it had been difficult.

"Yeah, I know." The daughter of Zeus sighed. "Zoë died at the age of over 3000 years, so I can understand at least that. But her…no, it wasn't fair at all. And you know that Percy still blames himself for it."

"Who're you talking about?" Rachel interrupted their conversation while they walked, with a confused look on her face. As Thalia was consumed in her thoughts again, Annabeth was the one to clarify for the redhead.

"Bianca di Angelo. She was Nico's big sister and died to save Percy, Grover, Thalia and Zoë Nightshade, another huntress of Artemis. She was only twelve and had just joined the Hunters; it was the winter before you were called to help us out with the Labyrinth, remember?"

"Oh yeah, _that _I remember," The Oracle laughed nervously at the memory of the terrifying Labyrinth. "Oh …poor Nico. Would be nice to have back a few good guys instead of just the bad."

Instead of answering, the other two just nodded grimly, and after a few seconds of silence, they had reached Bunker 9. Loud voices could be heard from the inside, and as the three girls entered, they were met by a loud scream of panic…

* * *

**SO! Nico is in the Underworld and busy. No flaming about him not appearing please, he_ will_ appear. Only later. Patience, guys.**

**You liked it? Feel free to tell me :)**


	19. Memory Serving?

_August, 10th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Why hello there, loyal readers! :)_

_Welcome to my newest piece of fanfiction, we're tuning into Roman Camp again. Take your seats and ready the popcorn. _

_Enough with the jokes. Some of you may have noticed the little confusion in the reviews section. "Guess who its not that hard" is a friend of mine whom I told about my fanfic but he hasn't got an account. It's _not_ Rick Riordan. Why should Riordan read a fanfiction about his own stories? XD_

_Yeah, that aside, I thank you all for the reviews I've received but I'm **STILL** looking for another beta reader. Carter and I are overworked! Would be nice if someone could offer a little free time. Don't you Americans have a long summer break or something? :( Well, if you don't want to, I'll just search for someone else then. *sigh* Anyway!  
_

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

**_Chapter XIX_**

**Percy**

Now that he had at least some knowledge of what was going on, Percy felt a lot better. If it wasn't for the fact that his brain was most likely going to explode, he'd actually be quite happy.

"Sit right here, and cross your legs." Hazel commanded, pressing him to the ground. They had reached the main building, and he had been pretty impressed by the structure. Though it looked big and amazing from the outside, the inside was even more incredible. It wasn't the style that he liked, with the way that it seemed to have been from a picture in a history book, but it was still impressive how new and white this all was.

Hazel, followed by Reyna, Dakota, and Gwen, had dragged him through so many corridors that he had completely lost track of where they were. More questions were now burning through his mind, but he decided to keep his mouth shut this time. After all, he wouldn't get a straight answer anyways, and he was still trying to figure out what had happened at that meeting place. Reyna had defended him, despite wanting to chop his head off a few minutes before that. Was she on his side now or what? He didn't know. This place was so weird and unreal that he could have sworn that he was dreaming.

The problem was that he wasn't capable of imagining something this crazy. Of _that _he was sure.

But for now, he did as Hazel told him to. It wasn't easy looking around the room they were in, because through the wide windows right in front of him, the sun shone so bright that it almost blinded him. He guessed that he was in the center of the building, but he wasn't absolutely sure.

"Can't I sit somewhere else? The light's pretty bright…" he grunted, squeezing his eyelids together.

"No." Reyna commanded simply. It wasn't a suggestion; it was an order.

"Why?" he objected, not understanding why he should listen to her.

"Just do it! You really don't have any discipline, do you?" Reyna's head appeared right in front of him, blocking the light. Although he appreciated that, he didn't exactly like having her face so close to his.

"You have to sit in the sunlight because we're going to use some techniques only kids of Apollo can use, which Gwen can do better when the power of her father shines above her. So just shut up and hold still, will ya?" She whacked him in the forehead and stepped away abruptly, causing Percy to be blinded again, covering his eyes and rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"Ouch! You're all crazy, you know that?" he retaliated, glaring at Reyna with the most furious look he could manage right now. Gwendolyn chose that moment to step forward and smile at him reassuringly.

"You'll get used to it. Now put your hands on your temple and close your eyes, okay?" She had a kinder tone in her voice, not as imperious as Reyna, so Percy just nodded, accepting the weird request. Then, he felt another pair of hands on his own, and peeked through his eyes to see who it was. Gwendolyn sat before him in the same position, her head right where the sun was so the light seemed to come from her body. This was weird-

"Don't open them, idiot!" Hazel smacked him in the head from behind, and he almost fell over before he managed to catch himself. Why were most of them so _violent_? But he just cursed her silently and closed his eyes again, trying not to panic.

"Now concentrate. This could hurt, but you have to remain in this position, and don't you open your eyes or everything is over. Got it? Now think of something, anything that is connected to your past. Even if it's just a little detail." Gwen spoke with that calmer voice again, and Percy noticed that his head suddenly felt warm, and was getting hotter with the second. He tried to stay calm and remember all he could…

He remembered that orange sweater from before; he had a necklace with beads and a pen that could transform into a sword. Its name was Anaklusmos and that was Greek for Riptide, just as he remembered all the Greek names for the gods instead of the Roman ones. Besides that, he seemed to be the son of the sea god, and he knew how to use his sword in combat, even if he didn't figure that out until he was actually fighting…

As soon as he had the images in his head, his skin started to feel like it was boiling. He winced, then screamed, but somehow managed to remain in this position as he was told to. It wasn't really a physical pain or heat; it was more of a mental throbbing that filled his brain. Suddenly, pictures flooded his mind, pictures he could relate to. A woman with brown, long hair and warm eyes, a man in a wheelchair, a boy his age with no pants but hooves, a big boy with one eye, a girl with black, messy hair, a younger boy with dark shadows under his eyes, weird creatures, a blonde boy with golden eyes attacking him, a dark maze, A big city in deep sleep, a glowing palace hovering over that city, and a meadow with at least 20 cabins in totally different styles.

But one person kept showing up in the pictures, over and over again: a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes that pierced his own, as if knowing everything about him.

And just as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished again. His memory returned to a black state of oblivion and he found himself lying on the floor, breathing extremely hard. His eyes struggled to open and he stared at the ceiling, not able to move or think at all. He tried to hold onto the pictures, to keep them as his memories, but every single one of them disappeared again, vanishing behind the wall of nothingness. Only glimpses remained, and he couldn't even remember the faces properly anymore, let alone the scenes he saw. And he got the feeling that they were fading once again.

"Gwen, you alright?" Reyna asked in concern, and Percy heard some whispered words between Hazel and Reyna. He couldn't understand them; they were probably talking in Latin again. Out of nowhere, Dakota appeared above him, her face worried. It looked strange on her beautiful features, but he wasn't compelled to look away this time. He was finally able to study her properly, and suddenly, a thought appeared in his mind: _the blonde girl in my memory was way prettier. _He wanted to shake his head so he could wave away the thought –curious, wherever the heck it came from– but his head wouldn't move. Apparently, no part of his body would.

"Percy? Are you okay…? Do you remember anything new?" She was kneeling beside him now, touching his forehead. "My gods, you're burning up! A-and your ears are bleeding!" she pointed out, looking over to the others for advice. Percy wanted to answer, but again, his body wouldn't respond, so his lips ended up forming something quite intelligent, like "blahaa ne".

"Of course he is. I focused the energy of the sun upon him." Percy couldn't see Gwen from his position, but she didn't sound well either as she coughed and cursed in Latin. "_Condemno_…I have to go heal him. Give me some ambrosia and nectar from my pocket, please."

While Gwen ate her ambrosia, Dakota found a pillow somewhere and managed to drag Percy to a small daybed in the corner. He wondered where that slim girl got the strength to carry a guy like him. His whole body didn't just hurt; he didn't actually feel much of it. But even if he didn't remember much, he was pretty sure that he had never felt this way before.

A few moments later, the other girls were at his bed and Gwen sat beside him. She looked like she was about to fall asleep for a few days, but she smiled anyways, reassuring him.

"It's okay, I got this. You may feel pretty weird right now…I admit that this is my first time actually trying this out. I read about it and I prayed to my father for help. It's weird that you don't have any visible burns; my hands are still a little burned as it is, and you're completely fine. Did anything come to you?" She opened her hands wide, spreading them so they were positioned a few inches over his body. Percy could see the scorch marks on her palms, but the daughter of Apollo didn't seem to be bothered by them at all. She began chanting something in an ancient language, and Percy felt better and better with every word. With a spoon, Hazel fed him some kind of pudding, and he tried not to look like an idiot and spill the whole stuff on his new sweater, which was already drenched in sweat. When he finally was able to move and sit up again, he leaned his back against the wall and rubbed his forehead.

"Man, that was crazy." That was the first thing he managed to say through his dry lips after he was given some nectar, the stuff that Lupa had given him which had healed him immediately. He took a deep breath as they all stared at him, waiting for an answer. He couldn't possibly say which one of them was the most excited. Reyna tried to hide it, but was pretty bad at it, with the way she was fingering the blanket nervously. Dakota had taken his hand, which he felt uncomfortable with, but he was too distracted and tired to object. She stared at him worriedly. Hazel had crossed her arms, leaning against the wall, scrutinizing him with an expression between worry and suspicion. Last but not least, there was Gwendolyn, sitting beside his bed and looking as if she was all excited about everything he was going to say.

He didn't really like the attention.

So yeah, four pretty girls were staring at him, but not in the way any guy would want. He had just been knocked out by a spell a girl had cast on him and sadly, most of what he had seen was gone again. It had been pointless and tiring, and he didn't want to be stared at the moment.

So he tried to just tell them the truth, hoping that it'd get them to leave him alone. And he discovered that as he talked his thoughts out, more details seemed to come back to him. Slowly, yes, but they came back. "I saw several faces I probably knew…they felt familiar. I also saw a meadow, similar to yours, but still a little different. The most memorable place is a big, glowing palace hovering over a city, which I think was New York. I just…know that. And the palace plus the buildings were definitely Greek, and there was music, happiness-"

"Wait…you saw Olympus?" Hazel interrupted him. She was utterly confused about something, and it seemed that she trusted him even less now. She stepped closer and glared at him.

"See, that's impossible, because no demigod ever goes to Olympus. We're forbidden there; only gods are allowed at the top of the Empire State Building. Lupa even told us that New York was off-limits, because so many monsters surround the area trying to reach Olympus. Plus, the Mist is even thicker there than it is around here. So tell me, how could _you_, an untrained demigod, know how Olympus looks and where it is?" Her eyes narrowed, and the other girls were stunned into silence as well. Percy just shrugged and raised his hands in defence. Well, one hand, considering the other was still held by Dakota.

"Look, I don't know, okay? I just told you what I remember seeing, and that was what I saw," he argued. But there was a voice in his head that wanted to tell her that she was wrong. Demigods could go there. He _had _been there. But he didn't say it out loud; Hazel didn't trust him as it was, and he didn't need to provoke her any further.

Suddenly, the awkward silence that had filled the room after his statement was disturbed by a loud, metallic sound that had Percy cringing.

"What the-" he began, but was interrupted by Reyna. Her face was unreadable but she stood up, arms crossed.

"Lunch's ready. We better go downstairs." With that, the daughter of Mars was out of the room, followed by a still angry Hazel. Percy sighed and leaned back against the wall again. He looked up at the two remaining girls who didn't even bother standing up, still staring at him.

"I'm sorry that this didn't exactly work. I never meant for you to get hurt." He tried to smile apologetically, but Gwen dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, it's alright. At least we tried, and we both made it out alive and well. Let's just hope you get your memories back faster now." She smiled honestly and immediately, Percy felt a little less guilty.

"And don't bother Hazel and Reyna. They're both still upset about Jason and can't quite figure out where to put you. I'm sure it'll turn out somehow. Even Bobby learned to accept the facts after some time. He's just jealous that those with the most powerful parents always get more attention. Believe me, I know the feeling, but I don't really care because I was never one of those power hungry people, you know?" Dakota shrugged and then stood up, dragging him to his feet with her hands. She reached under the bed and pulled out a sweater and shirt, handing it to him.

"Here. You don't want to get to lunch with that sweater, right?" She giggled and Percy looked down at himself, blushing slightly. The amount of sweat drenching his new sweater was really embarrassing. So he nodded, not thinking about the two girls in the room as he pulled off his sweater and the shirt underneath, before putting on the new ones. When he looked up, both of them stared at him. He blinked, finally noticing what he had done and blushed. Well, he was a boy. His upper body was nothing to be ashamed of, right? Right?

"Er…sorry, boys don't do that around here?" he asked, scratching his chin and laughing nervously. They both snapped out of their stare and shook their heads. Gwen was the first to compose herself, a serious expression on her face.

"Sure not very often. But I just noticed…you don't have a single scar on you, do you? It's strange…most of the older demigods have lots on them, especially when coming here late. But oh well…you were probably just lucky. See ya." She smiled and turned around to attend lunch. Percy turned to Dakota, who still looked at him in a way that he really didn't like.

"Were you…wondering that too?" Dakota looked up at his question and smiled her stunning smile, shaking her head.

"No, I was admiring your muscles. You're built quite well…I like that."

She winked at him, and the boy didn't exactly know how to react, so he muttered, "Er…thanks," before folding his old clothes and asking Dakota where he should put them. Ever since that other blonde girl appeared in his mind…he felt a little different around the daughter of Venus. His reaction didn't seem to be what Dakota expected, and she turned serious again. How these girls managed to constantly switch personalities would always remain a mystery to him.

"You can give them to the laundry on the first floor. Now let's get downstairs; the food will help you get your strength back." The smile she gave him still was pretty, but that girl from the pictures kept returning to his thoughts, even if the images were unclear and blurry. He didn't know her name, but he had the feeling that there was _something_ important about her.

But for now, as he made his way down to the first floor, his biggest concern was making it through the day in this "Castra" without getting killed.

* * *

_Well! So that's what you get if you try magic tricks on Hera's erasure work 8D. Wasn't she bloody careful? -_- Anyway! Annabeth is back in Percy's mind, how do you like that? ;P_

**Please tell me what you think, good things, bad things, I can take it all! :D**


	20. Cursed One

_August, 14th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Helloooo, readers! ^^_

_Welcome to the next chapter of "The Son of Neptune" byyy me. I hope you enjoyed the last ride and I'm happy to tell you that you got another chapter before the weekend is over! :D _

_This one is pretty full of information and long. I hope it's not too stuffed xP Btw. If you tell me to fix something or do different in my story, it's most likely to show up MUCH later because I'm writing the chapters far sooner than I upload them. Actually, I'm several chapters ahead already but they still have to be written by a beta. I'm German, the chapters don't sound that good when I finished them XD. Btw, my beta problem is solved for now. But thanks for the offers, really sweet of you! :) I'll come back at you if I need any other help. Now I'll stop to talk and let you read the chapter already xP  
_

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

**_Chapter XX_**

**Percy**

See, lunch really _was _giving him some strength back; the food was excellent, which he didn't expect. The only problem was…well, he felt lonely.

Yeah, there were at least fifty other people in the room. No, it was just that he was sitting alone at one table. It wasn't that nobody wanted to sit next to him; Dakota and Gwen even offered to put the rules aside, but then again, Percy didn't want them to get in trouble because of him. There was this stupid rule that every god had an own table for his children. And since he was the only son of Neptune present, he sat alone at one long marble table. Then again, this feeling was somehow familiar, like he was used to eating alone.

The fact that most of the soldiers whispered and stared at him from time to time didn't make him feel better either, so the teenager tried to concentrate on his plate full of chili con carne and the orange juice standing beside it. He definitely needed to ask if there was something else to drink next time. He hated orange juice. He had a desperate craving for sugar but unfortunately, he didn't know how he could get some.

After he finished eating and made an offering to the gods –he chose his orange juice, hoping that Neptune preferred the liquid over chili– he was finally permitted to step out of the massive marble hall. Right after he was out in the meadow again, Reyna was behind him, arguing with Bobby. He didn't understand their words exactly –curse Latin– but the son of Neptune got the feeling they were talking about him again.

"Hey, got your strength back?" Reyna suddenly appeared next to him and managed a smile. It looked forced, but Percy appreciated that she at least tried to be nice. He just nodded and looked back ahead.

"Yeah, though I'd really like some Coke right now." He grinned and Reyna shook her head, looking somewhat disappointed.

"Sorry, but you won't find anything like that here. Several years ago, the Mercury kids managed to get some in and sold them, but as soon as Lupa caught them...well, they won't sneak out again." She sighed and then shook her head, as if trying to get back to her point. "Anyways, I've got a training plan for you. For all beginners, we find out what they're good at and what needs improvement. I got you extra lessons for Latin, since you seem to have difficulty with it. And you also get extra lessons in your special abilities since you're obviously a strong demigod. Lupa is giving them so you better behave. She has lots of experience and you can learn much from her, but you have to follow orders." The daughter of Mars tossed him a sheet of paper with a chart on it.

It was divided like a class schedule, and it wasn't until then that Percy discovered that he didn't even know which day of the week it was. So how was he supposed to find out where to go first?

"What day is today, anyway?" he asked. Yeah, he didn't know that, okay? He wasn't even sure what year it was. The only thing he knew was that it seemed to be winter, judging by the temperature of the water and the air around here. Reyna raised an eyebrow.

"It's Sunday, December 13th. You really didn't even know that much? Good luck, then. You'll better go to your tent first though." Percy shook his head as a sign that he really didn't know, thanked her, and looked back at the schedule, only to see that he had the afternoon full of activities without even a pause in it. And it was Sunday! Joy.

"Isn't that a bit too-" But he trailed off when he realized that Reyna was already gone. Great.

Now in an even happier mood, he stormed off to his tent, guessing that it was the blue-green one he saw before. When he reached it, he felt several eyes watching him, and he was tempted to turn around and yell at them to stop staring.

"Is that the son of Neptune?"

"Doesn't look like the typical soldier to me. He seems so easy going." The boy who said that made "easy going" sound like a major disease.

He was lucky to understand that much, because most of them spoke in Latin. Percy knew a little of this language from somewhere or another, but it was dead in his opinion, and he only remembered some words like "cow" or "sword". And that wouldn't really help him in a conversation unless he wanted to hunt down a cow. The boy shook away the thought and concentrated on getting into his tent. Reyna had told him about the tents, and that they only opened for the ones allowed in it. So if he tried to get inside and wasn't a claimed child of the said god, the tent wouldn't open. So to speak, it was a test for himself.

After taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and touched the blue-green fabric of the door, and the reaction came immediately. A glow filled the entire tent, and a green trident had appeared right above the entrance. It also glowed for a short moment, but then dimmed down and the fabric opened up, wrapped itself around the top of the tent, and stayed there. Hey, so he really was a son of Neptune. He was relieved, but on the other hand…well, he didn't exactly like all the attention he got for being the son of this powerful god.

But what he saw now that he stepped inside was just…fantastic. He had expected a small tent with some hammocks or something, and maybe a wardrobe for his clothes – not that he had any, but normal kids would've. But it didn't look like the inside of a tent at all. The walls were of solid and well made, decorated with several strange items that had little plates below it. Percy stepped closer to a few of them and read what their plates said. One of them was a strangely big hoof, labeled with:

_Hoof of the Ceryneian Hind_

_Caught near Madrid, 1892_

_By Robert Diamantes_

Several others of them told him that those were things other sons of Neptune brought home from their adventures. He wondered if eventually, there would be something he caught on this wall. After admiring the decorations, he noticed that even there were no visible windows from the outside, a person on the inside could see to the coastline. There were round windows in the wood walls, showing the landscape outside. Though the mist clouded the sight at the moment, Percy could imagine having a beautiful view of the ocean after it rained.

The next thing he saw was a wardrobe, and as expected, there were hammocks on the side. All in all, the inside of this tent looked like the inside of a big ship, standing on land.

Percy loved it.

He didn't know why exactly, but he just liked being in here. And he knew that being on such an old ship would make him equally as happy. With a big sigh, he dropped himself on one of those hammocks and stared at the ceiling for several minutes. It was the first time that he actually felt at ease since coming to the Castra Roma. Besides his short jump into the water, this tent was the first place he could relate to, somehow. And it helped that the hammock was really comfortable as well.

It was then that he noticed an orange shirt lying on the shelf several feet away. Percy lifted himself from his bed and walked over to it, stroking the orange fabric and the winged horse that was printed on it. Then he reached in his pocket, put the pen on top of the shirt, as well as taking off his necklace and placing it beside the pen. These were the only things he possessed that connected him to his unknown past. He still didn't remember much, but he knew that he had a life before coming here, a life where many things happened. And when he now looked at the necklace, all alone in here and with half an hour to spare before his first training lesson, he took those items and sat down in the hammock again.

The necklace had four beads and one large crystal in the middle of them. They looked handmade, but were all incredibly precise and detailed. He stared at all of them, and he knew that they all meant something to him, though he didn't know what exactly. For example, he could clearly decipher the third bead as a Labyrinth, though there were just a few strokes on it. And the names on the fourth bead also seemed familiar. He stared at the Empire State building for a long time, trying to ignore the headache he got for trying to remember all of those people and what those objects meant to him. But he didn't get far with remembering; when he looked at the second bead and only connected it with flesh-eating sheep, he gave up and threw the necklace to the floor.

Unfortunately, he had been so focused on getting his memory back that he almost forgot to go to his first training lesson. He cursed silently, put the necklace back on, and grabbed his sword-pen before storming out of the tent, which automatically closed behind him.

* * *

His first lesson was a disaster.

One thing was clear: he was _terrible _at archery. Even when Gwen –fortunately the teacher– tried to help him out, Percy was an absolute failure. After all the laughs he earned, some soldiers mused that he looked like a very untalented son of Mercury rather than the son of Neptune. Gwen tried to comfort him by saying that he was probably good at other things, but Percy got the feeling that she was only trying to make him feel better.

Latin wasn't a blast either. Yes, he discovered that he knew a little about the grammar and some vocabulary, but even when Hazel told him that he might just have less talent than most of them, Percy wasn't sure if it was about talent or if he knew those words from somewhere else.

After the first two lessons officially stole away any good feeling he may have had, Reyna took him to sword fighting. On the way, she explained a few things about their training system to him. Those who were best at one thing always taught the others, so they always had the best ones getting even better. Of course, Gwendolyn couldn't teach everyone in archery, or she wouldn't have time for her other training then. But every cabin had its specialities, and so Minerva's kids taught Latin and strategy, Apollo's kids taught archery and medicine, her tent taught sword fighting and other weapons, Venus children taught Pegasus riding, Vulcan's kids did the muscle training and work in the forges, Mercury's kids taught stamina plus stealth, and Ceres' children were the fastest climbers and knew how to handle plants and cook excellent meals.

The only ones that didn't specialize were the rather weak children of the lower gods –this made Percy's anger rise again, though he couldn't quite explain why– and Bacchus' kids, considering there weren't many, and basically cooked with Ceres' children or helped grow their plants. Lupa could get them proper teachers, like old soldiers, maybe, but she decided to let them handle everything to give them the lessons of responsibility they would need in a fight. Percy simply nodded at what she said, happy that she didn't seem to be angry with him anymore.

When they reached the sword fighting arena, the boy was again impressed. It was a flat but stable building with seats at the side for an audience. Of course, there was a real arena in the Castra Roma, but that wasn't used for training, only for tournaments or actual challenges. So when they entered the flat marble building, the other half of the first legion was already waiting. Percy had been told that most training was by legion, while stuff like Latin was by cabin, and other times it depended on how strong you were in that activity. So the sword fighting lesson wasn't just with the first legion, but also with some good fighters from the others.

Percy had to ask himself how all those teenagers and kids managed to organize all this training. Lupa seemed to keep herself out of it, except for showing up at some training lessons to give "special ability"-training. So the schedules needed to be organized by the kids themselves, and it wasn't as if they took it easily and let themselves to nothing all day. No, it was the exact opposite; they were insanely hard on themselves, as far as he figured out.

So now, he stood near the others from legion one as Reyna announced that they would train in pairs, dueling each other. After a few minutes, they would change training partners. She introduced Percy and his parentage -which again caused the others to look at him strangely- and told them not to be too hard on him because he was new. But she gave him a discreet smile, and Percy wondered if she was up to something.

Today, it was practice with the single-handed sword, without a shield. After all, losing a shield during battle was easy, and if you should really lose it, you have to be prepared for it. At least that was what Reyna said. Percy thought she was right, but the cunning looks in the eyes of some of the soldiers didn't give him the best feeling about it.

But then, there was the selection of partners. Percy had been pretty positive that he would end up alone, or maybe with someone of the lower legions, until Hazel walked up to him, sort of smiling. She didn't seem content with the fact that she had to talk to him.

"Hey, Reyna wants you to be Bobby's partner. He's our best with the single handed blade and is normally Jason's partner. I assume she wants to test how strong you are. If I was you, I'd be careful. Bobby isn't really good at holding back, and he doesn't seem to like you. "

Percy nodded. Yeah, he had already noticed that Bobby seemed to hate him. But at least he told him straight out, rather than glaring at him constantly. There was also that name again: Jason. Now he was supposed to get the same training partner as he had? Why the hell was he always compared to that guy?

With his mood lower than it had been all day, which was a big accomplishment, he took out his pen and uncapped it, causing several other soldiers to murmur again. He ignored them and stepped in front of Bobby, his gaze solid.

"So, you want to test me or what?" He wanted to sound angry and prepared, but he was sure that it didn't come out that way. Reyna was the one to answer his question, stepping up beside him.

"Yes. I wanted him to be your training partner so you could convince him. You know, if someone should enter first legion, they have to be accepted by all members of the legion, a rule that we have only in this one. Bobby agreed that if you beat him or could at least hold him for a few minutes, he would agree to your joining, and then we could go to Lupa and ask for her final permission." She looked at him as if this was a big favor of her, but Percy wasn't so sure. Bobby seemed pretty strong, and his muscles made the son of the sea god recoil. Then again, Percy had the feeling that if he didn't enter this legion, he wouldn't get far. The rest of camp disliked him even more than the soldiers of the first legion, so he took a deep breath and swallowed.

"Alright, let's do it."

"I'm warning you, I won't hold back one bit. So if I _accidentally_ stab you, blame yourself that you didn't dodge." The blonde guy grinned and grabbed his golden sword tighter before running to Percy and slashing at him with one giant stroke. For a moment, the black-haired demigod had a sour feeling of recognition. This smirk, his pointy ears, the blue eyes and the sand colored hair, a bronze and steel sword attacking him…but the memory vanished as quickly as it came, giving him the ability to turn his concentration back to the upcoming fight.

Unfortunately for the son of Mercury, Percy was able to react to his movements perfectly. He blocked Bobby's attack and returned it. It went on and on like that, even better than with Reyna. After all, she had had two swords and Percy hadn't wanted to fight back then. But now, after being stared at the whole day and then being insulted for the attention he got, his patience was at an end. Anger filled his memory-less head and he relied on his instincts only, which seemed to be a good decision, because he drove Bobby back pretty well. It was like a game now, he was merely paying attention but it was getting more difficult for Bobby to keep up with him. The son of Neptune didn't even notice that the other soldiers had finished their battles and were now looking at them. His sword felt like an extension of his arm, although Bobby was slower than Reyna, he had more force behind his strokes.

Percy was so into proving himself that he didn't even stop after giving Bobby several cuts on his arms and legs. Strangely, although Bobby did manage to get him a few times too, it didn't hurt when his blade hit Percy's skin. As time passed, Bobby's face paled and he looked angrier; but even if he pushed harder, he couldn't get Percy to back down and lose. Bobby had managed to hit Percy's arm with his blade, but the black haired boy ignored it and slashed forward, knocking Bobby's blade out of his hand the same way he had with Reyna, grabbed his fighting hand, pointing the bronze sword at the other boy's throat.

The son of Mercury breathed heavily and stared at him with wide blue eyes. But Percy wasn't that exhausted; he felt like he could do it all over again. This wasn't normal…he had been fighting for so long and was still in the state to do more, something inside of him even _begged _him to continue because he finally found something he was apparently good at. After the stunned silence around them turned into murmuring –again– Bob sighed and pulled his hand out of Percy's grip.

"Okay, I admit it. He's good," he finally said, looking at Reyna. _It's not like you couldn't tell me that yourself, ya know?_ Percy thought to himself, putting away his sword and crossing his arms. The brown haired girl grinned and winked at Percy with a smile. He wanted to open his mouth to say something when suddenly a strange noise, like something between a bark and a laugh, came from behind them. Percy turned to see Lupa standing in the entrance, although he didn't know how long she'd been watching.

"So.. I see that you're a cursed one…"

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, Lupa knows. And Percy just beats another one. Oh well XD. How do you like Percy's tent?_

**Tell me what you think! I wanna know, really! :)**


	21. Departure, at Last

_August, 18th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hi there! ^^_

_Did you notice that the upload rate is faster? xD Well yeah, I tried. Because as a comment suggested, I really try to finish this story until October 4th. University starts there and the new book comes out so I'd have a hard rise finishing a story when the actual book is there. Would you guys still read it? D: Probably not T_T. But it's going to be hard work. I don't have any chapters to upload any more and desperately need somebody with much, I repeat,_ MUCH_ free time that is possibly an American and good at Grammar. Wanting too much? If I don't get any feedback from you guys on this, I'll go search myself. Still, would be cool if the beta is one of my readers, ya know? _

_Enough talking, on with the chapter! Finally, we go over to Annabeth again :)  
_

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

**_Chapter XXI_**

**Annabeth**

Astonished by the scream, Annabeth and the others looked at each other. They were all immediately ready to confront a monster; Thalia already had her hand at her bracelet, and Annabeth held her knife in hand. Rachel just sighed and took several steps back, letting the experienced fighters lead. The daughter of Athena took a deep breath, nodded at Thalia, and they stormed the bunker.

But despite their expectations, there was no monster in sight. As they stormed in, they were met by only a few heads turned in their direction. All the others stared at something near the roughly shaped ship. Two Cyclopes held a giant head of a metal dragon – Festus. Leo was standing several feet away, his hands in his curly and relatively messy hair, obviously exasperated.

"No, no, no! The only person attaching Festus' head is _me_! Y-you just dropped a piece, see! Move away from him!" He waved his arms furiously, stepping closer to the two Cyclopes. Annabeth and the other intruders blinked, irritated, but soon, Annabeth put her weapon away. After the shock over Leo's scream calmed down, some demigods began laughing, while others just went back to their work, smiling. The daughter of Athena had to admit that the ship was already looking like what it was supposed to be. The scaffold was gigantic, and several Cyclopes worked on it as well as some children of Hephaestus. On the upper ranks, Annabeth spotted some of her own siblings helping out with the design, and even some demigods from other cabins seemed to be here for help or support. If they continued like that, maybe they really could finish the project within half a year…

Piper walked up to Annabeth and the others, after talking to one of Leo's siblings about how long they would take to finish the ship with the Cyclopes and Briares helping. Now, she smiled and stepped up to Annabeth.

"Hey! What're you guys doing here? Also curious about how the Cyclopes work?" But Annabeth shook her head, the expression on her face serious. They needed to get down to business; there was no time for watching the others work on the ship with their equally important mission at hand.

"No, we already know how that works. But we're here for a different, more urgent matter…" She looked behind Piper, where Jason stood. He had already spotted them and had apparently listened to what Annabeth said with raised eyebrows. The blonde girl turned back to Piper, looking directly into her color-changing eyes. "We've got a prophecy. We'll leave this afternoon. You should all begin packing while I make arrangements with the airport. Wait here, I'll get Leo so we can start a meeting in the Big House."

And with that, she gathered all of the demigods for the journey together, along with Grover, whom they met in front of the woods, talking to his girlfriend Juniper, and Rachel and into the Big House, where Chiron was waiting for them.

They sat down around the ping pong table as always, and Annabeth took a deep breath. She repeated Rachel's prophecy from the breakfast table not long ago, with Annabeth giving her perspective on the supposed meaning of the words.

Jason, Piper, and Leo were pretty stunned. This really didn't sound good, and Piper glanced at Annabeth in sympathy. But the daughter of Athena was sick of the pity; she waved her hands as if to push it away from her.

"We all know prophecies have double meanings. I've been on quests and I've received prophecies before – I won't lie, sometimes it's really as bad as it sounds. But we all made it back with a successful mission, and this time isn't going to be any different." But their worried expressions didn't go away, so Annabeth stood up, pressing her hands on the table.

"Alright! I don't care how much you want to look at me like that, we need to get moving! Get your backpacks packed in an hour; we'll meet on top of the hill. Remember to get enough nectar and ambrosia, because I have the feeling that we'll need it." With those words, she turned around and left the Big House, no longer able to stand the glances they were all giving her.

She stormed back to her cabin and began tossing clothes and books into her backpack. The demigod didn't notice anything around her, not even her siblings, until Malcolm finally tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"Well, it seems that you're about to leave on your quest as soon as you can…not that I expected anything else." Annabeth didn't answer, and her half-brother sighed before she turned around to grab another shirt. Suddenly, Annabeth stopped in her track, staring at the glasses he held in his now-open hands. They were grey, with Greek lettering printed on the frames.

"Malcolm! These are -"

"Yes. But I think you'll need it more than I do at the moment. It's a gift from our mother; I bet she'd be glad to see it in use rather than lying around in my bunk. Come on, I'll feel better knowing that I could help." He smiled and closed his sister's fingers around the item, and Annabeth embraced her brother in one of her rare hugs.

"Thank you. I appreciate it so much." Malcolm had to be her closest half-sibling, because he always seemed to understand her. Annabeth carefully put the glasses in their case, and stowed it into her backpack, thinking about how useful they could be. Finally, she said goodbye to her other siblings, who all wished her good luck.

With those happy thoughts, Annabeth made her way over the meadow in the direction of Half-Blood Hill. On her way, she stopped by the Hades cabin and sat down next to the hellhound to write an answer for Nico. She tried to explain everything to him as well as she could and wished him luck. Plus, she had another matter she wanted the son of Hades to look into, if he could manage it in the rare free time he had. The hellhound vanished as soon as the scroll made contact with its mouth.

As Annabeth walked, she heard the familiar _clip-clopping_ of hooves behind her. Looking over her shoulder, she found Chiron following her, presumably to wish her and the other heroes good luck as they left. He looked troubled; there were a few moments of silence before the centaur spoke what had clearly been on his mind for a while, figuring out how exactly to tell the daughter of Athena.

"He won't remember you, Annabeth…"

"I know."

"It will be difficult for you to get along with the Romans. And you don't know if they changed him."

"I know that, Chiron. I'm not seven years old anymore." She smiled at the centaur, who had been like a father to her all these years.

"Of course. I should assume that a child of Athena would be smart enough to figure it out. Just remember one thing: Gaea is going to try and fool you. She already has enough power to summon powerful beings, but she might also try cheap and dirty tricks. You have to watch out for those. Just be careful."

"You don't have to worry about me being careful. I always am." The hour was up; the two of them walked up Half-Blood Hill in silence, everything important already said. The daughter of Athena was relieved to see all of her companions on top of the hill already …along with, well, half the camp. Thalia was leaning against her tree, her backpack on the floor next to her.

"Hey, guys. You're early." Annabeth hadn't expected them to be waiting for her.

"Well, it wasn't like half the camp pressed us to hurry or something…" Leo glared at some of them, his backpack swung loosely over his right shoulder. "They said they had presents for us." He nodded at some of them who were holding items, and at least one camper from every cabin was present.

"Oh, guys, you're overdoing it." She shook her head, but Katie Gardner stepped forward anyway.

"No, Annabeth. We all know how dangerous this is going to be, and this is probably the only way we can help and support you. We figure that with the gods silent and unlikely to assist you, our help should be doubled." She stepped forward, and her siblings gave each of them a lunch package with their favorite food; Katie told them that if they talked to it nicely, it would refill itself up to three times.

Travis Stoll was the next one to walk forward, continuing where Katie stopped. That had to mean something, considering the children of Hermes and Demeter usually didn't get along very well.

"Plus, we all owe that idiot a favor, so he better get back alive!" He grinned, both of them knowing who he was talking about and handed them some cans of Coke they stole from a nearby shop or something. Then, Connor handed Annabeth something that stunned her even more: flying shoes. She raised an eyebrow with suspicion, but Connor seemed to sense her mistrust and laughed.

"No, they're not cursed, I promise." He grinned and took a step back so Annabeth couldn't punch him. She succeeded anyway.

"Don't you dare make fun of me! I don't like being dragged into Tartarus very much, it's only logical we're distrustful, right, Grover?" She looked over to the satyr, who looked at the shoes as if they would activate their wings and started kicking him any moment.

"I-I'm not going to wear these!" He suddenly snapped and took a few steps back behind Annabeth. Obviously, he remembered his last experience with similar shoes quite well.

"How about it? Who wants flying shoes?" Annabeth turned around and raised the shoes in her hands so everyone could see it. Jason shook his head in amusement. Of course, he didn't need any. Piper held up her hands in a "no thanks" gesture.

"Flying shoes? That sounds awesome!" Leo stepped forward and practically ripped the shoes out of Annabeth's hand. The daughter of Athena had to smile a little while Leo changed his own shoes for the flying ones. "So, how do they fly?"

"You say '_Maia'_. Our dad's mom." Travis grinned. Leo repeated the word and almost flew uncontrollably down the hill. Fortunately, due to Grover's experience several years ago, Annabeth was able to grab Leo's shirt and deactivate the shoes. The son of Hephaestus landed on the floor pretty painfully.

"You'll have time for that later," she warned with a cool voice, and turned to the other campers again, where more presents awaited them. Mitchell from Aphrodite's offered them magical mini cloth stores who already contained extra clothes for them to change in. Butch from Iris' gave them a spray bottle which could provide a continuous stream of water, so they could create a rainbow more easily (without hurting fingers, yay). Will from cabin 7 handed them an extra medical kit with special homemade remedies for all sorts of disasters. Last but not least, Lou Ellen offered them a ring which could cast a spell. Unfortunately, she refused to tell them what spell, so Annabeth put the ring away into her jeans to make sure it didn't explode in their face or something equally catastrophic. The other cabins said their goodbyes as well, the counsellor of Tyche cabin even chanting a Greek blessing-song for them. Clarisse just mumbled something about beating up Percy for her but Annabeth understood that she actually did care, even though she didn't offer a physical present.

It was no secret that pretty much every camper wanted Percy back. Just this past summer, he had been the one to save them all, giving them hope when they had almost given up, and he was their _leader_, after all.

Argus was waiting down the hill in his shuttle bus, so Annabeth had to press the other campers to hurry with their goodbyes. They waved once more, and the six heroes jogged down the hill with their stuffed backpacks swung over their shoulders. As they finally sat in the car, Argus stepped on the gas, and they were on their way to the airport.

Annabeth looked back one last time, just to see Thalia's tree vanish in the distance. She wondered if she would ever be able to set foot in Camp Half-Blood again. And if so, would it be with Percy…or without?

* * *

_Interesting gifts? And no, Hespaestus cabin didn't donate something, they're busy. Don't blame them xD. Dionysus probably helped Demeter cabin. _Edit:_ I seriously forgot Ares...hehe, added something xP  
_

**Other than that, like it /hate it? Please tell me! :D**


	22. Mistrustful Soldiers

_August, 21th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hello there, readers! ;P_

_Here's the new chapter and it's actually really short and has no story in it. I'm sorry about it but Hazel's going to be important in the future and in the next chapters, I want you to get to understand her a little more and find out more about her way of thinking. You already noticed how mistrustful she is, right? Well, there's more to her than that :D Just read on and don't lose hope. No worries, I still have a plot, it's all in my head already *g*. It's just that sometimes, the fillers seem so long if you're waiting for a chapter and only get something like this...I'm sorry about it, please don't stop reading D: I know the feelings from the manga I read. Every time there's a filler chapter I become mad because I want to know how the story continues x.x Therefore, I feel with ya and I'll try to upload more so you feel better! :)  
_

_Btw, my beta problem is solved for now, thank you all for suggesting your help :) It's really nice to know you actually care :3  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXII**_

**Hazel**

With raised eyebrows, Hazel turned to the entrance. She hadn't realized that Lupa was standing there, but her words distracted her from this fact. After all, it was normal that Lupa showed up to training lessons occasionally, just so she would make sure everyone was as hardworking as they should be. Of course, all present demigods saluted except Percy. _This won't end well… _

"What do you mean, cursed? I'm not cursed!" he insisted, lowering his bronze sword.

Hazel noticed that he wasn't even out of breath. It had shocked the hell out of her that he was able to beat Bobby, but now it stunned her even more how he just stood there, looking at Lupa all confused, but acting as if the fight did nothing on him. And it really didn't, there wasn't one scratch on his body. A curse, Lupa said… but… she had never heard of something like this. Wait- no, that was impossible. Impossible for someone who just came to the Castra. This camp was the only place for people like them, the only place for demigods. There was no way he could actually get a curse like that. Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, watching Percy's expression closely. At first, she had assumed that the black-haired guy was lying about his amnesia and was a spy of some sort. But he had proven himself by agreeing to the spell Gwen did on him. After all, that spell hurt like hell, she'd read about it. And if his memory was perfectly okay, it would probably have vaporized his brain. Not that he had one. As a son of Neptune, his head was probably full of kelp anyway.

Back in reality, Lupa just bared her teeth and stepped closer. She didn't take Percy's objection seriously, and ignored him otherwise as well. Hazel knew why: Has was being disrespectful. The son of Neptune was lucky to just be ignored and not eaten. Maybe she was merciful because it was his first day. Maybe. Or perhaps he was too important to kill. But then there was this other question in Hazel's mind:

_Why would he be important? _

Was he really related to Jason somehow? As much as he mistrusted this boy and as much as she detested his father; He actually managed to awake her interest. Reyna now stepped forward to Lupa and bowed.

"Madame Lupa, we have a request to make." She threw Percy a meaningful glare and finally, he seemed to understand. He looked around, noticed all of them saluting and finally imitated the salute. It looked uncomfortable on him and his face showed that he hated doing this. But at least he was smart enough to obey for now, just as long as Lupa was here and as long as they needed her okay for him to join their legion. Alright, Hazel would like to see him suffer by training in the other legions. Seriously, they wouldn't be so easy on him. They often mistreated demigods with powerful parents if they were new. Not that they were offensive against them no, they feared their parents too much for that- but they began ignoring them and making them suffer mentally. Mainly out of envy for the attention and power they got.

But on the other hand Hazel just knew that he was the way to getting back Jason. And that meant they had to keep him close, even if they didn't want to. With that intention in mind, Reyna now took a deep breath and put on her bravest and most imperious voice.

"_I, Reyna Guerra, __daughter__ of Mars, current praetor of legion one and the __Castra__ Roma, request Percy Jackson, Son of Neptune to join the first legion. His level of strength and parentage would allow him to be a compatible part of our alliance, and in my opinion, we would waste his talent elsewhere."_ Latin made the way out of her mouth, they were taught to address Lupa this way. She sounded all tough and mighty but Hazel knew that Reyna was just as scared of Lupa's reaction as they all were. Only difference was that Reyna was a perfect actor. They had all learned to hide their fears from Lupa. If the she-wolf noticed, they would be doomed, eaten by her wolf companions.

When Reyna was ready with her speech, it was silent for a few seconds. Bobby started to look uncomfortable, his wounds hurt, obviously. After all, Percy had managed a few severe cuts on his arms and legs, even one on his cheek. But the uncomfortable silence was broken by Lupa, barking. It was what she called a laugh and it wasn't heard very often. All of them were stunned, still standing stiff in respect but waiting for her to calm down and talk.

"You all think that? Bob? Hazel?" she looked at both of them and apparently, Hazel unfroze. She glanced at Percy and decided to be honest. After all, Lupa would find out anyway. She switched to Latin when addressing her, as always.

"_To be honest, I hope that you would allow him to join us. Part of me believes that he is connected to Jason's disappearance, but Reyna is also right that we need a substitute for him to remain a stable legion."_ She bowed and took a step back so Bobby could answer. He also unfroze and stepped forward.

"_And I agreed with Reyna that when he beats me, I would acknowledge his strength and let him join. I don't like to admit it but he won."_ He looked bitter, also stepping back and lowering his head in defeat. Lupa slowly nodded.

"I see. This should become really interesting… but no." she showed her teeth, as If grinning with glee and all of them blinked irritated.

"B-but-" Reyna began but she was interrupted, surprisingly, by Percy.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure she has her reasons. Don't get in trouble because of me." His uncomfortable face turned into an honest smile and suddenly, Hazel heard Dakota next to her sigh dreamily. Great, now she was completely out of her mind about him, that was for sure. But he wouldn't fool _her_, Hazel, daughter of Minerva. She was sure there was some trick behind him. He was a rebellious ass, she was certain of that. Why was he so friendly all of a sudden? Plus, nobody was friendly here, the strongest survived… right? Reyna seemed just as confused about his interruption and friendly smile towards her. She had been unfair against him, comparing him to Jason the whole time and doing friendly things to him for her personal benefit. And still, he was that nice to her. Why?

Lupa just kept grinning though. "Don't misunderstand me. I'm actually planning on letting him in your legion. But first, he needs to confirm some expectations I have. Follow me, Son of Neptune. We interrupt your sword fighting lesson here and you get your first one at special ability." The brown she-wolf turned around and Reyna threw Percy another glance, ordering him to follow the wolf. Then she whispered something in his ear and the two of them vanished from the arena.

As soon as they were out of the room, murmur started to rise throughout the other soldiers. Gwen walked over to Bobby and offered to treat his wounds which he gladly accepted. Hazel made her move over to Reyna, eyebrows raised.

"What'd you tell him?"

"Oh, I just reminded him to keep his discipline. You noticed that he's quite the stubborn type, right?"

"Definitely is. It'll get him killed if he doesn't get over it soon." Hazel agreed, crossing her arms and looking at the spot where he had stood until recently.

"But don't you think this rebellious line is totally cute?" Dakota had snapped out of her trance and walked over to her legion-mates. She was a little red in the face and sighed -again. Hazel kept her mouth shut. Better not say something to that or she would again be insulted as boy-hating maniac. Not that that hurt her, but she was finished with her arguments with Dakota. The girl knew what Hazel thought of her behavior, she didn't have to push it any further. So she just rolled her eyes and stayed silent. Reyna was the one to answer, obviously thinking about Dakota's opinion seriously.

"I don't know… he seems to be nicer than I thought at first. But you know what happens to nice guys here. They often get run over by the strong ones. I'd love for him to be the key to Jason's disappearance but I still don't understand how…" Dakota didn't quite seem to listen to the last part, already having an argument in storage for the first thing Reyna said.

"But he's strong as well, right? Strong, rebellious_ and _nice. There's something different about him, don't you agree?" With that, Bobby and Gwen joined them and Hazel nodded, now finally saying something.

"Oh yes, different is the right word. I just don't know if it's in a good or a bad way." She paused, looking at all of them.

"Let's sum it up: He is a far too old son of Neptune, one of the big three. We would normally know of him for long, right? Or he would've died because of monster attacks. The oracle called him a Son of Poseidon though, Neptune's Greek counterpart. He has a magical sword which has a Greek name on top of it. He doesn't speak Latin very well, which normally even the dumbest demigods manage. And his fighting skill -I'm sure you also noticed that- is totally different from ours, more ancient in some way. He himself says he has been to Olympus which is clearly impossible- And last but not least: He's invincible." Stunned silence filled the room.

"He's what now?" Reyna managed to say. Though she didn't seem so stunned. After all, she already noticed something strange with his skin when she fought him down at the beach.

"Invincible. As in you can't hit his skin with any blade on earth. I guess you all noticed that Bob tried to hit him but every time he did, the blade just slid off." Bobby seemed to agree silently, too deep in thought to say anything. Now the daughter of Mars nodded slowly.

"Yes, I noticed that as well when I pressed my blade against his skin. But that can't be, right? Is there a spell like that?" They all looked at Gwen, who shook her head slowly.

"No, not that I know of any. I know many supporting spells but I've never heard of one that could do that to your skin…" she seemed utterly confused about this matter as well.

First, Hazel wanted to tell them what she thought. But it was too crazy. Impossible, for one thing. So she kept her mouth shut. Then, when the others decided to continue their training and look into the matter when Percy returned, Hazel also decided something:

She had to find out who this boy was and what was going on. So she waved the others goodbye, said that she had something to look into at the library, and stormed out of the tent.

Now she just had to find out where Lupa had taken him…

* * *

_Did anybody notice that this is already my 5th chapter this month? That's kinda a record XD Hope you enjoyed the read even though it was that short :) Thanks for all the reviews lately, I'm overjoyed to see every single one of them! *hug*  
_

**Please tell me what you think! ^^**


	23. Percy, you stupid Freak!

_August, 24th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hey there, my loyal readers :)_

_Thanks again for the many reviews! I'm so flattered :3. And yes, I know that the chapter wasn't really thrilling xD But it needed to be done because I can't really change perspective in the middle of the chapter xP. And I uploaded another one so fast because I wanna make up for the last one ^^ Hope that's alright with all of you :D Btw, I'm glad to hear that you guys would stick with me even though the book comes out :) So sweet of you! _

_Anyway, here comes Percy again! :3  
_

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXIII**_

**Percy**

Seriously, he was beginning to hate this institution. Not only had he finally managed to make Bobby at least accept him he assumed that he did- now this stupid She-Wolf named Lupa wanted him to come with her for another stupid test. Did they want to tell him that every demigod had to go through this stuff when coming here?

Yeah, talk about demigod. He was supposed to be the son of one powerful god, Neptune, right? And now, just because of his dad, the people looked at him funny, either out of fear or of mistrust. Why would they fear him? He didn't do anything, and he certainly didn't harm people just for fun. Did he look like that kind of Jerk? Or was it because of that sea monster thing and his fight with Reyna?

Then there was this feeling… the feeling that he didn't belong here. At first he thought it was normal, after all he was new. But no, the feeling didn't disappear during the day, it got more powerful as time passed. These people here were so stiff and the names of the gods… he just didn't feel like calling them that way was correct. Percy had felt more comfortable when Gwen had called him Son of Poseidon. It just felt right! But the others kept telling him not to call the gods that way. Although he thought that maybe he would get over his inner confusion during the day, things were just getting worse by the second.

That curse thing Lupa was talking about earlier… what did it mean? She knew a lot more about him than she admitted, right? Was it about the fact that Bobby's sword didn't seem to be able to hurt him? Was it that? He had to admit, that wasn't exactly normal.

As they walked, Percy discovered that he started to feel tired. Not worn out because of the fight, just tired. Like he could drop over any minute. Where did this come from all of the sudden… from that memory thing this noon? Or from the sword fighting with Reyna at the beach and the one with Bobby just now? A yawn escaped his mouth and he wondered if Lupa would notice him dropping over and take a nap in the grass as she walked farther forward. He almost began to just sink to the ground when a voice interrupted him.

"It'll go away when we get to the beach." Lupa had turned her head towards him and her gaze was cold as ever.

"W-what?"

"It's 'excuse me?'"

"Alright...excuse me, Madame Lupa?" he repeated, more politely. Just then, he remembered Reyna's words. _If you want to survive this, remember the discipline. And never show fear… _Okay, he really wanted to throw up now. One thing was clear: He hated to act this way. All stiff and appear in a way he didn't even feel.

Lupa looked back to the front as they reached the beach, obviously pleased that he began to obey her. "You're not the first of your kind I teach. You'll feel better when you reach the sea, it's in your nature."

And frankly, she was right. As soon as they reached the surf and Percy could smell the salt in these waters, a fresh breeze flowing through his jet-black hair, he immediately felt a lot less tired. Another thing was that the mist was now a bit less strong and the sun was close to the horizon, giving them a beautiful view of the vast ocean. How was it possible for one person to control all of this? A fairly familiar feeling of admiration towards his father began to form in his stomach.

"Wow… what are you going to test me on?" he asked, trying to make it sound less curious than he felt. Lupa was silent for another few seconds but then turned towards him, her silver eyes glowed as always and they seemed to study him closely.

"I want you to demonstrate your powers to me. In the last years it was rare for me to teach a child of the big three."

"You had this..Jason, right? He was a son of Zeus- I mean Jupiter." Shit! He was ready to smack himself for using the Greek name again. Lupa's eyes narrowed and she gritted her teeth. Other than that, she just nodded. Strange… didn't Reyna say the Greek names made her really mad?

"Right, we had Jason. But of course Jupiter's children have different powers than you possess. Would you tell me what you know about yours until now?" was it just him or was she curious? This seemed strange, he didn't expect her to act this way. But as he wanted to ask of it, her eyes became cold again and he decided to let it drop for now.

"Well, I don't get wet when going into the water… I can breathe under it. Also, this big fish seemed to understand what I was saying and I understood him as well… it was like talking with my brain or something. And I had a strange feeling in my gut when I tried to make the waves move to my will…" he trailed away and couldn't continue because Lupa was suddenly behind him and began to sniffle at the small of his back. Percy's green eyes widened and panic filled his mind. What did she do there, that was yeah, what was it?

Then Lupa suddenly nudged him from behind so he was forced to go closer to the water. His panic decreased because nothing bad happened actually. Okaaay, what was that feeling just now?

"Alright, Hydrokinesis it is then. Let's first train that, we can see about other powers later. Now step into the water and show me what your instincts can do. Imagine I'm an opponent for the beginning." She grinned her gleeful grin again and Percy raised his eyebrows. Alright… this was some strange training. On the other hand, had he ever summoned his powers out of fun? He didn't know but somehow he felt like this special ability training was new for him.

His thoughts almost started wandering again, but he forced himself to put them behind him. Last time he used these special , he had relied on his instincts only. Same went for the fight with Bobby. Apparently, his instincts didn't lose their memories and acted like they were never gone. So he breathed in and out slowly, stepped closer to the water and tried to let his instincts take over…

He waited… and waited. Finally he raised a hand and motioned to the waves. He stared them down and indeed, they moved much slower. His gut made a little move but not so much that it was noticeable. Then he heard a sound out of the nearby bushes and that ruined his concentration completely. Behind him, Lupa shook her head. This wasn't going to work… he forced it too much. Her silver eyes wandered over the nearby bushes, where the noise could be heard.

"Is someone there, Madame Lupa?" Percy asked, obviously thinking that Lupa must know, with her sharp nose and all. But the she-wolf shook her head.

"No, it's fine. Just a rabbit." She paused and then suddenly grinned, tensing her muscles. And out of nowhere, she jumped on Percy's back.

His green eyes widened and out of nowhere, he was in panic -again. His back...there was something there that shouldn't be touched! Especially not by the claws and fangs Lupa had. He reacted as fast as his muscles allowed him and suddenly, a wave splashed over them, forcing Lupa to jump off his back.

Now the son of Neptune was in a row. As soon as Lupa stood up and began running towards him again, he motioned the water to defend him, form spears out of water and he himself went farther and farther into the surf, feeling better with every step. Now he understood! The She-wolf had forced him to defend himself so he would rely on his instincts alone. And it obviously worked. He felt like he was getting one with the ocean with every move he made, making it harder and harder for Lupa to attack him, though she was really smart, dodging his moves cleverly, and he would've had some severe wounds if it wasn't for his invulnerable skin. This wolf really was scary, and he felt more like really fighting an enemy than just training his water powers.

The waves washed against his back like they were hugging him gently and he suddenly felt the urge to pull out his sword as if something told him that the sword would help him fight. But as soon as Lupa saw that he wanted to reach in his pocket, she jumped forward as fast as lightning and pressed him into the sand, waves washing over them both. Lupa was already dripping wet while Percy's clothes and skin were again completely dry. The She-Wolf now stood over him, her paws on his shoulders and her threatening silver eyes staring holes in his own.

"No, don't draw the sword. The point is to improve _your_ powers, not those of your sword. I see that you haven't used yours very often though you really have much of it inside of yourself." She seemed thoughtful and finally let go of him so he could sit up. The goddess walked away and looked at the ocean, showing him only her back for now.

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, not sure what she meant with the power of your sword. Lupa turned in his direction again Percy was still washed over by the waves every time they reached the beach- and nodded in the direction of his pocket. Her gaze was filled with something like hate, as if the sword disgusted her, but she was forced to tell him about it. He understood and took out the pen, uncapped it, and the sword was lying in his hand.

"You know its name, right?" Lupa asked, turning away again.

"Anaklusmos." Percy responded automatically.

"Yes, and that's Greek for..?" she asked further, pronouncing _Greek_ like it was a severe insult.

"Riptide. You mean the sword itself also has water powers? How's that even possible?" but as soon as he said it, the sentence seemed logical for him. This sword came from the sea. And it can summon power from its source anytime, if you just know how… Lupa nodded slowly as if she guessed that he had already remembered. Was it just him, or was she being colder towards him by the minute, not liking to talk about this topic?

"That's right. I can't tell you the whole story, but this sword has its origins in the sea. And I think you have summoned its powers before. But my training is to prepare you so you could use your own strength and don't have to rely on your weapons. I taught Jason, that and when you later fight with your weapon again, it will only increase your own powers and give you extra strength. You understand that?" The She-Wolf stood above him all the time while Percy sat in the surf and stared at his sword.

"I guess…-I mean: Yes, Madame Lupa." He looked up to her and saluted superabundantly. Lupa seemed pleased with this reaction. Maybe, just around her, he should show a little of the discipline she seemed to adore so much. Although the thought really entirely disgusted him.

Finally, Percy told a wave to support him so he would stand on his feet again. The teenager stepped out of the water and as soon as he did, he felt his power draining out of him. Percy almost dropped over but Lupa was able to catch him in time as if she expected that to happen.

"Careful. You have to realize that your powers are the greatest when in water. If you leave it, you will always feel the vigorousness drain away. And because of certain circumstances, you are powerful, but you will also tire greatly when using too much of your strength." The young man groaned and sat down in the sand carefully.

"What circumstances?" he asked, his fingers rubbing his forehead. This story about his sword having magical powers and trying to memorize its story gave him a headache again, and this one got even worse when leaving the water. But this time, Lupa didn't feel like explaining. Or she had other reasons. The she-wolf shook her fur and in one second, all the water was sucked out of it, the glowing was back, giving her this aura of glory and royalty.

"I can't tell you. And I guess that's it for today. We already took more time than we should. Go to the infirmary for some Ambrosia, then continue your training. We'll need your strength in the future. And I'll also allow you in the first legion now. You're beginning to show respect and you're not as impossible as I thought your kind to be." First, Percy wanted to be glad and say thank you but then a question formed in his mind.

"What do you mean with 'my kind'? Am I not a demigod, like the others? You said so, right?" But Lupa just sneered and looked at the horizon.

"You're a demigod alright. But no, you're not like the others. You-" but she was interrupted, when suddenly thunder rolled in the sky though the storm from this morning had long cleared up and there was no cloud in the sky. Where the heck did that come from?

"Yes yes, I get it. I can't talk about this topic. To nobody. Never. You'll have to see for yourself eventually. Now do as I told you. Goodbye." And with that, she turned around with another cold glance and vanished in midair.

Percy stared at the spot where the goddess just stood. This was beginning to get more mysterious. Why couldn't she talk about a certain topic? Didn't he kinda have the right to know why he was different from the others? He felt that he wasn't like them, but why? There had to be a reason, and he wanted to know it! After he sat there a while, staring out at the ocean, he sighed and stood up, ready to go to the infirmary.

However, he heard this noise again, coming out of the bushes. Someone was there, no doubt.

"Who's there?" he asked in alarm, taking his battle stance, his hand already in his pocket. Then, he heard the noise getting farther away, probably the person trying to run. His sea green eyes narrowed and he pushed his arm forward, forcing the water after him to act, summoning this power with his last remaining strength. He wanted to know who was there. And a wet person couldn't hide under the other soldiers.

Water rose from the sea and at an amazing speed, it rushed after the noise. Percy heard it hitting something and he strangely… felt it. Even before he heard the scream. And he knew this voice… oh shit! The black haired teenager gasped and plunged forward, running into the forest that abut on the beach. He reached a small clearing and on a tree on the other side from him there stood Hazel, breathing heavily. Her eyes were staring at her wet body, armor and clothes and she seemed to be more than just stunned. Panic was filling her eyes, insecurity… something that just didn't fit into her normally proud and cold face.

"Hazel, I'm sorry. Are you… alright? I thought someone was spying on me, I didn't know it was you, maybe we should-" But he was interrupted when Hazel looked at him, a knife drawn from her belt and pointed at him directly. Her stormy grey eyes were so furious that even Reyna's rage seemed nothing compared to it.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU STUPID FREAK!" she yelled, and before Percy knew, she threw the knife, precisely at his chest, where his heart would be…

* * *

_Well well...What's up with Hazel? How did you think of Lupa as a trainer? I always wondered why Percy wasn't trained in his special abilities, he could be so much stronger! Water is a really powerful element after all, at least if you learn how to properly control it. I think the Romans are far more rigorous with their training than the Greeks ;P_

**Hope you liked it, tell me what you think, pretty please! :)**


	24. The Journey begins

_August, 28th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Cater Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hii there! :)_

___Yay, a new chapter! And it's from the Greeks! And it's NOT from Annabeth's POV XD You happy now? xP No really, I wanted to do something else and Jason is also very important and funny after all. He needs a little attention ^^. Again, I thank you all so much for the many reviews! I love you guys, seriously :). I don't even have the time to reply all of them so officially thanks to everyone for supporting me! :3 I hope you're enjoying my new update, the quest is started and it's getting exciting really soon :D At least I hope so..xD_

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXIV**_

**Jason**

Okay, arrive at the airport without getting attacked: check. Accompany Annabeth to the booking office without getting attacked: check. Make sure the person leading them to their jet wasn't a monster: check. At least he hoped so.

Maybe he was just a little paranoid. Was this normal for people with the fate of the world on their shoulders? Even though he was sure he'd been in his situation before, his memory was still fuzzy, and it was clear that he was supposed to be the leader for an extremely important quest. Well, one of them, anyways. After all, Annabeth was there, and she had experience. His sister was there; she knew how to destroy monsters. And as Annabeth told him as they drove to the airport, Grover –as a satyr- could sense emotions, and unless they were underground, where they would hopefully never end up, he was a very reliable monster-radar. Plus, as a Lord of the Wild, he had a lot more nature powers than most of his kind, though Jason wasn't quite clear on what that actually meant. But this quest _had_ to succeed. Otherwise, the world they knew would come to an end. And nobody liked the sound of that.

The jet that would take them to San Francisco was, of course, not as huge as a plane that could transport 200 people. Piper explained that it was a long range jet, designed to transport about 20 people. That was about enough to transport her dad and the crew that worked for him day and night – like the cook and his personal assistant, etc. The others were impressed that her dad was that wealthy, but she just acted as if she didn't hear what they were saying.

The jet was pure white and looked brand new, as if it had come out of the workshop only a few hours ago. It was much faster than Festus, and much less conspicuous. Mortals wouldn't think anything was wrong with a plane in the sky…Jason wondered what they had made of the giant bronze dragon.

The lady that led them to their jet was the one that had flown them to Oakland airport. She was about to climb on, assuming that she would fly, when Piper told her that she didn't have to.

"Who's gonna fly then?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at the teenagers before her. Before Piper could think of a decent excuse, Annabeth broke in, and her expression was serious.

"Peter here is going to fly us." She pointed at Argus, who had come up behind them, keeping his distance. The mortal woman was convinced; she shrugged and wished them a pleasant journey before leaving.

Argus waved them goodbye as well when they got on the plane, and Leo immediately vanished to check out the control panel in the front. Inside of the plane, Jason felt a little better. Even if they weren't in the air yet, this seemed like a comfortable way to the Roman Camp:

The eight leather seats were arranged as if they were in a living room, around low tables but still with a view out of the windows on each side. In addition, there were two couches, each made for four people. There was more than enough space for the five demigods; they tossed their backpacks and thick winter coats on a random seat. They were all nervous about their quest, but exploring the private jet was enough to distract them for a while.

"Look, I found a miniature kitchen! Isn't this handy?" Thalia held up an awkwardly shaped coffee can. Jason looked at Piper quizzically, and she shrugged in response, sitting on the sofa by the window.

"They have enchiladas! I'm going to enjoy this," Grover exclaimed, and Jason had to smile. Grover was not quite as troublesome as Gleeson Hedge, but still pretty entertaining. The son of Jupiter then decided to check on Leo, at the front of the plane.

"Hey, everything okay over there? You need a co-pilot?" Leo shook his head in response, pressing various buttons on the control panel. Obviously, he had already figured out how to fly this thing. Impressive.

"Nahh, I'm good. Besides, do you even know how the controls work?" he asked, a teasing smile on his face as he looked up from the panel. Jason shrugged, leaning against the side of the door.

"Dunno…never tried. Maybe, because of my father and everything. But if you don't need me, I'll just stick with controlling the winds for now." He smiled and gave Leo a thumbs up.

"Yep, go do that, Sparky. Tell everyone to sit down and fasten their seatbelts. We're ready to take off with Captain Leo!" The son of Hephaestus grinned, but Jason gave him an annoyed glance. He wasn't particularly fond of his new nickname. It was bearable when Piper called him that, but Leo? Absolutely not.

"You better stop calling me that, or I will fry you to a crisp with a lightning bolt." Unfortunately, the warning didn't come as seriously as he wanted, considering the smirk he still had on his face. Jason turned around, returning to the others in the main room.

"We're ready to go, everyone. Fasten your seatbelts please!" He motioned to the seats and Piper giggled a bit.

"You make a great stewardess, Jason," she said, causing everyone else to laugh as well and Jason to blush.

"Ha, good one, beauty queen!" Leo's voice rang out through the speaker system, and he was clearly laughing his ass off.

"Don't call me that!" Piper shouted back while fastening her seatbelt. Somehow, they could still laugh and make fun of each other, even knowing that the world would end if their mission wasn't successful. He hoped that this mood would last a little longer. Suddenly, Jason heard a nervous whimper from the middle of the room, where Thalia had taken her seat, her fingers shaking as she tried to make her seatbelt as tight as she could.

"I can't believe I'm doing this…" she whispered, looking outside in disbelief. It only took Jason a moment to understand the problem. He shook his head and sat down right next to his sister.

"Hey, relax. I know you can do this. After all, you're my big sister, right?" He looked at her, reassuringly. The blond really hoped that this would help her, since he wasn't exactly calm either. The plane was safer than Festus, but the wind gods didn't really like him much. He needed Thalia to help, even if she was unsure of her air powers. Finally, Thalia took a deep breath, a shaky but somewhat determined look on her face.

"Alright, I'll try. Can't be any worse than driving Apollo's sun chariot." She laughed nervously at the thought; Jason wanted to ask what the heck she meant by that when out of nowhere, they started to move. They all heard the circulator turbines roar to life as Leo drove them to the private starting line they got, where he pressed the engines to full speed. Jason took a deep breath and concentrated on the air around them, tightly gripping his armrests.

As the plane began to tilt up towards the sky, Jason looked to the side, where Annabeth was gazing out of the window. Her mind was clearly elsewhere. Grover had taken the seat on the sofa next to her, but even if he was able to sense her feelings, he didn't know what to say about it and continued eating his enchiladas. Jason decided that once they got over the clouds, he would ask what was wrong, although he already had a good guess. At the same time, he wondered if he would really be able to control this jet with his thoughts. They had told him at camp that this Percy guy could instinctively steer a ship. Wouldn't Jason be able to do stuff like that too?

_Stop_, he told himself. _Stop comparing yourself to him. It's not like everyone else is doing that, right? _He sighed and tried to concentrate on the air around the plane. He'd been right: there were a few winds that were trying to gain control of the plane's direction. Fortunately, they were all very light and harmless, so Jason was able to keep them from blowing their jet out of balance easily. He could also sense that Thalia was helping; a few winds were easing although he hadn't done anything about it. Plus, this plane was so well balanced, so nothing could blow it out of the sky that easily.

His blue eyes were open, constantly drifting over to the windows to see how far up they were. But after a few hundred meters, he realized that he didn't even need to. Somehow, he just _felt_ how high they were. His eyes wandered over to Thalia, who had her electric blue ones closed tightly, maybe so she couldn't see how high they really were. Grover and Piper seemed to enjoy the view, while Annabeth sat as still as a statue, looking out the windows without really seeing what was out there, her face unmoved. When they finally stopped rising and the jet reached a steady level, Jason could practically see the thick layer of tension rising, how they all seemed to relax, their muscles slacking. Even Annabeth seemed to look a little less serious. They were out of Gaia's range now. At least that was a relief.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have now reached our flying height, and you can unfasten your seatbelts! Our current height is-"

" You really shouldn't finish that sentence, hothead," Thalia yelled, the anger in her voice clearly audible. But Jason assumed that she already knew it inside her heart, just like Jason had felt it.

"5,000 meters!" Leo continued, and Jason was pretty sure that nothing good could come from this.

"I'm going to _kill_ him!" She yanked at her seatbelt and finally got it loose. Thalia was about to rise from her seat when Jason grabbed her arm. As a son of Jupiter, the high-voltage shock that his sister gave him didn't affect him at all.

"No, wait. I'm sure he didn't mean to anger you. And…and I need you here; the winds are getting stronger by the minute." The last sentence took a moment to force out. He felt vulnerable, but also a little better…he sensed that he'd been taught not to act this way, to expose his weaknesses. Still, he had done it several times on his last quest; maybe it wasn't so bad to show what you felt sometimes. And it helped, seeing as Thalia calmed down and smiled at her brother, sitting down next to him again.

Time ticked slowly forwards, and eventually Jason got used to the jet and how the wind flew around it, especially under the wings. He could spare to be a little less focused and still keep the enemy winds away. All of the demigods –and the one satyr- had made themselves comfortable. Piper was reading a book, Annabeth was still staring out the window, and Grover sat there, chewing something that looked suspiciously like a soda can while rifling through the multitude of DVDs on the plane to be watched on the flat screen TV on the wall. After half an hour of controlling the wind and watching the others, Jason couldn't stand it anymore.

"Annabeth, is everything alright?" he asked, looking over at her. As he had broken the silence, everyone turned to look at the daughter of Athena as well. She just looked directly at Jason, quickly nodding once, before returning to her previous position. Thalia opened her eyes to glance at her old friend, her expression one of understanding and almost pity, but she didn't say anything. Grover, finishing his can, was the next to speak up.

"I'm sure he's alright, Annabeth. After all, I didn't feel the link weaken. If he was…dead, I would be too." He picked up another tin can, probably planning to eat it as well, and kept talking, looking at Annabeth with a smile. Jason had no clue what he was going on about, but Annabeth seemed to understand what he meant.

"Besides that, I'm sure he's getting his memory back like Jason is, now that Hera has been rescued." Silence followed his statement, although it was certainly true. It was a moment before Annabeth spoke up, her voice calm and steady, but there was a tiny part of her composed tone that didn't seem to ring true. He guessed that it was because the prophecy was unnerving, but there seemed to be something else…something she wasn't telling them.

"Like Jason? So you mean he finds a girlfriend there?" She glared at the satyr, and her grey eyes seemed to have their killer gaze again. At least that was back to normal. Jason blushed a bit at what she said, careful to avoid eye contact with Piper. Grover, on the other hand, frantically waved his hands in front of himself, shifting away from the daughter of Athena.

"N-no, that's not what I meant! Of course not!" Thalia rolled her eyes at his stuttering words, which weren't exactly convincing.

"You ruined it again, goat boy," she said, winking at Annabeth. This time, Grover started to eat the furniture, a nervous bleat coming from his mouth. Annabeth managed a small smile at his unease, and some others laughed a little too. Jason was glad that the mood had picked up, albeit only slightly, and Annabeth began to talk about where they should take a break. But suddenly, a disturbing noise rang throughout the entire plane and the engine came to a halt.

And with indescribable speed, they fell.

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah well, dramatic, right? XD What do you think of the jet and the start of the quest? I like the part where Annabeth lies to the pilot XD. Haa, and Grover as we love him, am I right? ;P Jason the stewadess 8D Okay, I'll stop now. _:

**Hope you like it, tell me! :)**


	25. Losing yourself

_September, 1st 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N: **_Hey there, guys and girls! :)_

_Haaa, my laziness is catching up to me. I'm becoming more busy now, arranging my new apartment and stuff. It's quite complicated. But hey, here's another chapter anyway, after all, we'll try to finish it when the book comes out, right? So September will hopefully be full of chapters although I'm afraid we -includes me, a good friend helping me with the storyline and my betas- may not be able to make it :/ Then I'll just keep publishing -if I'm in the mood xD- and you'll keep reading if you're in the mood...it'll make things a little more laid-back I guess XD As long as you still keep up with me! ;P _

_Anyhow! Here's another chapter, Hazel again. Don't be mad at her, she's just a normal (haha, demigod and normal) girl with not so normal problems and fears...hopefully, you'll get to like her more in the end XD  
_

_Btw, I KNOW about what's out of the original "the Son of Neptune". Really, I know all of it. The video, the chapter(s), everything. And I also know that it's not like my story. I'll keep it up anyway. Even if it's not the original book, I enjoy writing the characters and it's fun to form them and make them act like you want them to :D Plus, I have that hint to me to prove myself I can achieve something. So many people gave up their stories because of the book appearing...I'm not willing to join that trend, just for the heck of it...! D:_

_Sorry for the long text again but I had to say this x_x  
_

___**So please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXV**_

**Hazel**

While watching Percy's training, Hazel felt that her muscles tightened more and more. They had been right… he was, in a way, just like Jason. Even though his memory loss wasn't fake, he was able to hold against Lupa for a few minutes, which was a remarkable achievement for a new soldier. Really remarkable. Normally, when you went to this training with her first, you were knocked out in a split second flat. However, this wasn't why Hazel was so tensed. It was the fact that he was controlling water, water of all elements.

Of course, as a son of Neptune, he would have such powers, the daughter of Minerva had been aware of that the moment she found out his parentage. It made her cringe, and it made her hate him even more because of the thoughts her mother had of Neptune, the unruly god of the sea. But seeing him perform made her lose control over herself. It was just too much. Memories began flooding back into her mind, things she had banned out of her head for years. Now, seeing Percy handle the water to defend himself from Lupa and hearing them both talk about his sword and how he was a different kind made her shiver. Whatever that meant, she didn't know. And she just _hated _not knowing.

First, her worries proved to be true. He wasn't normal, he was not a normal soldier. But why was Lupa acting so strange around him? As if she really detested him, but was forced to take care of him, thinking of him as a pest. Yeah, Hazel wasn't sure about him either, but she would never resent another demigod, because she knew that this was the only real home they would ever get. Even if home was a little exaggerated.

Most soldiers in this legion thought of the legion camp as the only place where they could learn how to survive. A harsh school for people like them. Nothing more. Some weren't even staying year 'round. But it was very, very rare that Lupa allowed demigods to leave the Castra for school. This only happened to children of the lower gods and really weak soldiers. Not that they mattered, anyway. At least that was what they were taught.

Hazel stayed year round, every year. She didn't have a school to go. No school could teach her things she didn't already know. She didn't have a home to go. In fact, she _did_ really have one… but that was a long time ago. And last but not least: She didn't have someone to visit. No family. This was part of the reason why she moved in her hiding place, causing Percy and Lupa to notice her.

It was an accident, really. She had been thinking about the night seven years ago, the night she lost everything. So the daughter of Minerva wasn't paying attention to her balance enough and made the branches around her rustle. But Lupa didn't sell her out. She was barely able to wonder why.

When they were finished and Percy sat there alone, she wanted to run and tell the others what she had witnessed. She would again pretend not to be afraid, be totally serious and reasonable. As always. She always was like that. So as the female demigod ran, the brunette already wanted to form the words she was about to tell her comrades.

But suddenly, everything went wrong.

Water washed over her and out of instinct, she moved her hands to stroke it away, causing her to get even wetter. She screamed, totally losing control._ This can't be happening,_ she thought. _Dad… not again… _

Her head was hurting as she heard nothing but screams, rushing water and other disturbing noises, representing her memory of that night.

The feeling vanished just as sudden when Percy reached the clearing she had been in. Hazel found herself leaning against a tree, wet. She hated being wet. It always reminded her of things she wanted to forget, things she hid behind her shell of wisdom every day. And now this idiot of a boy had seen her tears, the fear in her eyes that she wasn't able to hide while watching him.

That was enough. She wanted to kill him, see him dead. Her reasoning that was normally controlling her whole life was gone completely. She yelled at him out of pure instinct, giving him the worst insult she could think of. Then, when he tried to talk to her -which she didn't even really hear- and wanted to get closer, she just snapped. This freak was _not _getting closer to her, his water poisoned body was _not_ touching her!

So she threw the knife. And she was perfect at that. Throwing knives had always been her speciality. Besides writing out strategies, of course. And of course the blade hit the target… and slid off. A little cut in his sweater, nothing more remained. The blade fell to the floor and Hazel felt herself getting back her reasoning, asking herself what the Pluto she was doing here. Her grey eyes flew up at Percy startling green ones, who stood there and stared at his chest as if he was realizing what was up with his skin for the first time. Then he looked back up to her. While Hazel recovered from her panic attack, she decided that she just wanted to run.

"What have I done that you-" but he couldn't talk any further, because Hazel was already running. The daughter of Minerva couldn't believe what she just did. It wasn't his fault that he had power over the element she feared most. And he couldn't have known that she was the one spying on him. Hazel knew all that, but she was still angry. Plus, she felt vulnerable. Something he was not. The Roman demigod wasn't used to this feeling. Normally, she would hide everything that could give a monster the impression that she was afraid. Lupa taught them that, again and again. _Show no fear. Don't fight force with force. A death in battle is honorable. __Survival of the fittest.__ Conquer or die. _These were just a few of the standard sentences that were supposed to melt in their brains, to influence their life.

But right now, instead of confronting her fears, she fled from them -again. In fact, she always had. When she came here, her siblings wanted her to take swimming lessons. The daughter of Minerva always refused or didn't show up on purpose. Of course she was punished for that, but she didn't care. Everything was better than being forced to go into those waters. To avoid further punishment, she finally learned swimming as much as it was necessary. But of course, her trauma didn't just vanish because of it.

Lupa even tried her so called 'first class therapy' with her: Throwing her into deep water to make her let go of the fear. But it had just made things worse. While she was running through the deep forest now, not aware that she was getting lost in it and receiving more and more cuts at her arms and legs, she tried to calm herself. That was all in the past. She didn't have to worry about it anymore. But although her reasonable mind told her so, her scared, nine year old self couldn't quite believe it.

Suddenly, the daughter of Minerva came to a halt. Her clothes were still wet, her armor weighed more than ever, and her breath was awfully heavy. In the silent forest around her, it was no problem to hear it clearly. She had realized the mist around her. Unfortunately, that thick mist meant that she had left the boundaries. It was much thicker outside those lines the mist formed and their soldiers and wolfs protected. How could she have made it out of their without being spotted? A different panic rose in her chest, and she had the feeling she was being watched.

_No, no, you should calm down, Hazel. Nobody can be here, right? No monster has ever made it this far into our __lines,__ the mist is strong enough to fool even a god like __Lupa__. Even __Saturn__ had his difficulties with it. So don't panic. They will realize you're lost soon and the wolves can find you in an instant. No need to worry here. That Percy guy saw you disappear, right?_ Immediately, she had to curse. Shit, she had to rely on this idiot? This was not going to happen! She would find her own way back, after all, she was the daughter of Minerva! She was not going to get lost in a forest like the last idiot in the world! So the teenager tried to calm herself. It was easier, being away from this kelp face and the ocean. Her tears were whipped away and she took a deep breath to calm her panic.

And finally, she nodded with determination and turned around at her heels, being on her way back to the Castra. She had a talk to make, with this Percy guy _and_ with her friends.

However, her determination was crushed when suddenly, the earth before her moved, seemingly forming something really strange while swallowing up the earth around it. Hazel had to stop short so she wouldn't be sucked in. A sleepy but very creepy voice sounded out of the earth, sending vibrations through Hazel's body and a shiver down her spine.

"Well well, if that isn't one fine demigod we have here. You are going to be mine soon..."

* * *

_*evil grin of doom* who do we have here? You'll all guess right, it's our well known villain for the story XD And Hazel's all alone in the forest...I wonder what'll happen? You still all hate her? :/_

_**Edit:** Changed the snow part. I fail at American weather and stuff, tell me when I do something wrong XD  
_

**Hope you enjoyed, please tell me what you thought while reading! :)**


	26. First Encounter with DirtWoman

_September, 4th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hi there! :)_

___Haha, I'm glad you all said "I don't hate her" so vividly XDD It's cool you think that way. And now a new chapter is arriving! _

___Well yeah, it's Percy this time. And I just want to say that next chapter could take a while. I like this one somehow and I hope you do as well. Nothing more to say just again: **I know about the chapter of the real "The Son of Neptune" that was uploaded** and I know that in the real book Percy remembers Annabeth. But this is MY version so he does what I want him to! *evil laugh***  
**_

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXVI**_

**Percy**

Well _now_, he was really gob smacked. First, it turned out that Hazel had spied on him- weird enough. Then, when he got her wet by accident not knowing it was her, she screamed at him and goes throwing a knife directly at his chest. And now… she just ran away without saying another word. He just didn't know what to do. Were girls always this difficult? He sighed.

Besides, he was exhausted. His whole body felt as if he could use a good night's sleep for at least 12 hours. He wanted to just drop into his hammock and rest, not waking up until breakfast. But he wasn't supposed to. His schedule went until 8 o'clock and he really didn't want to know what happened if he missed all of that. There was… wait. He pulled out the piece of paper and flew over the lines. He still had… er… climbing, first aid and javelin throwing.

Wait! This wasn't of importance now, what was he thinking? Hazel just ran off into the woods and was mad at him. First, he thought about running after her. Then again, something in his mind told him he shouldn't. The teenager was still weak on his feet and out of power entirely. Even if he followed the daughter of Minerva, he wouldn't be able to talk much because he'd lie on the ground, snoring.

So he sighed, put his schedule back into his pocket and ran for the infirmary, as he was told by Lupa. No, he didn't really run… he tried to. Didn't work out quite well. When he finally arrived there, breathing hard and sweat on his forehead, he was surprised to see Gwen in charge, treating Bobby. Was she the all round talent around here or what? Oracle, archery, magic spells, healing… amazing.

The infirmary was just another impressive marble building. In fact, Percy hadn't seen any not-impressive buildings around here. Everything was just so perfect and arranged… just something he couldn't stand. Well, anyway. Apparently, soldiers got hurt a lot, because they were at least 30 beds in here. They seemed comfortable and were neatly lined up against the wall. Separated by linen curtains, they even gave every patient a little privacy. Only around five beds were occupied and on the sixth, there sat Bobby, Gwen sat beside him and treated his wounds the ones Percy gave him this afternoon. Seeing him lying there gave him a little remorse, but he tried to wash it away so he could talk to them properly.

The son of the sea god stepped closer after several gazes rested on him for entering the infirmary so hastily. He cleared his throat and sat on the unoccupied bed next to Bobby, sighing in relief. He was extremely exhausted, and glad to sit down.

"Hey, Gwen. Lupa has ordered me to come here so I could regain my strength . Got some Ambrosia and Nectar for me?" he immediately earned an evil glare from Bobby but Gwen just smiled and pointed at the nightstand of Bobby's bed. She was really a nice person to hang out with. One of the few around here.

"Of course. Here, one piece of Ambrosia and maybe half a glass of nectar for you. We don't want you to burn up, right?" she winked at him before going back to work. Yeah, not burning up would be nice.

"How was your training?" a voice from the wall asked. Damn, since when was Reyna here? He hadn't noticed her at all, and nearly dropped his Ambrosia. He stuffed it into his mouth, regretting his doing immediately. It was burning up his throat, making him cough heavily before being able to answer the daughter of Mars.

"Good. If you consider the fact that Lupa tried to kill me, me defending myself to the death and spying Hazel freaking out as being good." He sighed and nipped on his Nectar, this time more careful. At first, Reyna managed a smile. Yeah, Lupa tries to kill everyone at some point. But you had to go through that to survive here. Then her gaze became puzzled. Hazel spied on him? And she...freaked out? Hazel never, ever freaked out. Never.

"What do you mean by 'Hazel freaked out'?" she asked carefully, stepping away from the wall and dropping next to Percy on the bed. Again, Bobby's eyes glared at the male demigod with suspicion. He gazed at Reyna's hand, that was now close to Percy's and his eyes narrowed _very_ much.

Percy tried to picture the story from his point of view, how he had wanted the spy to stop by making him wet and how Hazel had thrown her knife at him and ran away into the forest. With every sentence, the other's eyes got wider.

"You- she- WHAT?" Reyna finally snapped, anger and disbelief in her voice. She seemingly tried to calm herself and think. Coming to a conclusion, she looked up at Percy, determination in her face. The black haired boy thought his last hour had come but suddenly, Reyna grabbed his wrist and dragged him with her out of the tent. Bobby's face had a total cooldown when Reyna's hand touched his. Percy tried not to laugh at the sight, he was probably already half dead because Reyna was mad at him. He didn't want to add mad Bobby to his list. Why was he so freaked out about Reyna touching him, anyway?

"We gotta find her. Bobby, you inform Lupa when you're done here, we'll try to contact some wolves on duty and look for Hazel." Percy nodded in agreement. After all, he had thought about going after Hazel as well. But since he was new here and would probably get lost in the forest, he wanted to alarm the others first. Plus, he felt the effect of the Nectar and Ambrosia kicking in, filling him with new drive. When Reyna let go of his hand, he ran next to her, and they reached the edge of the forest really soon.

"_Any wolves on duty here?_ "she screamed in Latin Percy was surprised that he was able to understand. It was as if he was getting better at it by the minute. And almost instantly, two wolves rushed out of the bushes, glaring at Reyna.

"What is it?" one of them asked, glaring at Percy. He backed away and gestured to Reyna, motioning that she was in command. The boy really didn't like those wolves staring at him. Their eyes were just as silver and threatening as Lupa's. Reyna didn't seem bothered. Or at least she was hiding it really well. Man, he had to learn acting, even though he didn't like it. But for survival here, maybe it was for his best.

"We need to find Hazel. Can you smell her somewhere?" the wolves seemed to think and sniff for a short period, then turned their heads around and nodded in the direction of the forest.

"Yeah, but she's beyond the boundaries already. Won't be easy to find her way back." The bigger wolf concluded and turned back to glare at Reyna. The soldier sighed, then stepped closer to the wolf and bowed respectfully.

"Would you please guide us to where she is?" she asked, then glared back at Percy to bow as well. He didn't want to, really. But this glare told him that she was blaming him for this and wouldn't forgive him if he didn't obey now. So he finally bowed and the wolves agreed. Percy climbed on the bigger wolf's back like he had done it with Lupa this morning and they ran off into the forest together.

On their way, Percy wondered why they had to ask the wolves for help. He would've gone into the forest without them, it was just a bunch of trees, right? But with the heavy fog around and the air moving as if it was alive, he understood soon why they needed the wolves strong noses to guide them. It was as if the forest was alive. It bent different images and turned into the same forms over and over again. Unless you had overly sharp senses, you would never make it through here. The air became colder by the second, snow started falling around them, covered everything in a deep layer of fluffy powder, while their breath was clearly visible in the already misty air around them.

Then, out of nowhere, they heard a voice. It wasn't coming from anyone's mouth but it rather sounded like it was coming directly out of the earth, wandering through their bones with vibrations.

"You cannot beat me with your puny knifes, daughter of Minerva. I'm sure you know better. Face my wrath, and maybe you will think twice about not obeying me! Curse your mother's sharp mind." the voice was deep and scary. It made Percy's inside rumble and he wanted to flee in a different direction rather than running towards it. He felt that the wolf's instincts were telling him the same thing, but he kept running anyway. They reached a clearing and there was Hazel, her knives in hand and several cuts on her still wet body. In front of her, five giant… beings rose out of the earth and began to draw closer. They had six arms and looked like they were ready to crush anything in their path.

"Earthborn…" Hazel whispered before steadying her stand, although it seemed hopeless for her. These Roman demigods really were some tough pack.

This was the second that the wolves reached the clearing. Just like Percy, Reyna had already drawn her weapons, and they both charged in together with the wolves, slashing and swinging their swords as if they had done nothing other in their lives. The green eyed demigod felt so natural while fighting. As if slaying monsters was completely normal and not what was rational thinking- totally crazy and impossible. Percy had slashed through the first monster, clay spraying everywhere. Unfortunately, his waterproof skin wasn't monster-clay-proof. He looked down at himself, disgusted but then landed in front of Hazel with a smile, whipping the slime away.

"Hey, Hazel. Everything fine with you?" he asked, barely looking at her when another monster charged. Apparently, those were not the brightest ones. They got distracted easily and Percy jumped around them, cut them from behind until the last one vanished into a puddle of clay, right in front of a strange face that came right out of the ground. The eyes were closed as if it was asleep but somehow, Percy got the feeling that it wasn't sleeping completely, power radiating from it.

"Woah! What's that now?" Percy asked, taking a step back from the pit. He really had no clue why the monsters had attacked Hazel or what this thing was but he was sure of one: It was evil.

"Aaah, the son of Poseidon, I assume? I've heard about you." So it was the earth-face who had talked. Strange that it didn't spit out any muddy snow.

"Yeah… that's me, I guess?" he hesitated, again confused because of the different names used. His sword was still drawn and he glanced at Reyna, who stood a little behind him but also glared at the earth face, unsure what to think of it.

"Yes, my little one. You have slain my greatest and strongest son, that's an impressive thing to do. But I guess you can't remember that, right? Someone made you forget all the fun times you had… don't you want them back?" the woman's voice was soothing, wanting him to step closer and agree. And she was right, he _did_ want his memories back.

"That'd be nice…" he managed to get out of his mouth, his tongue seemed to act on his own. Why was he getting all sleepy?

"Then come closer, I have my ways to restore memories. You could save me great time, these people here are your enemies, right? You feel like you're not fitting in correctly? Turn your back on them and follow me, young hero. I can give you a fitting place to stay." Again, he felt like doing what the earth woman said, just one step closer and he would reach the tip of the liquid earth, his memory would-

"Snap out of it, idiot!" Hazel snapped and hit him hard on the head from behind. He wanted to protest, but in the next second, he felt relieved, like someone had slapped him out of a trance. Hazel didn't seem affected by the voice but Reyna seemed a little dazed as well, blinking rapidly now.

"Wh-what was I doing?" he asked, totally stunned.

"She was trying to convince you to step into the liquid earth. It would've swallowed you, you would be gone for good! Don't you dare listen to her, she's trying to get rid of you. See?" Hazel stepped forward and threw a piece of wood into the liquid earth. It was swallowed immediately. "I don't know who she is but she sure is a powerful speaker. You have to keep being reasonable, Jackson." Suddenly, he wondered why she called him by his last name. But that was the least of his worries right now. Percy's green eyes narrowed, glaring at the dirt-woman. He was now fully there and angry.

"What are you, woman? And why do you want me killed?" he asked, his sword pointed at the mud. A laugh sounded over the clearing, causing all of them to shiver because it sounded so cold.

"Oh, I want ALL of you killed. But _you_ especially, young son of the sea god. You are not aware of your full power, and yet you defeated my son. It shows that I should give you my attention as well. You as one of the seven will be important in the future. Don't you want to know what that means, little hero? Then put that sword aside, you can't hurt me anyway!" she hissed coldly and the earthen mouth formed to something that looked similar to a smile but was still way creepier. With every word she said, Percy's muscles tensed more, convincing himself not to listen to her. One of the seven? Not aware of his full power? Yes, he wanted to know what that meant. - But not from her!

"Oh, I can't? We'll see about that." He swung Anaklusmos in his hands and motioned the girls and the wolves to step back. Although Reyna didn't want to obey his orders, she did as he said and went out of his range. Then, he tried to do as Lupa told him, letting his instincts take over. This muddy lady was evil for sure. She'd be a great thread if she'd summon a few more monsters and all three of them got tired. He had to do something about it. His sword hit the ground and the earth around them began to shake. As the blade sank deeper into the snow and mud, the earth woman seemed to get amused -not quite the reaction he wanted.

"The earth shaker, he? We'll meet again really soon…" then, the ground around her face became solid and earth pikes made holes in it, forming a cycle of lances where the eyes and mouth had been. The face vanished and Percy sank to the ground. Apparently, the earth thing caused him to get even more tired than when he controlled water.

"Y-you have Geokinesis as well?" Reyna asked, obviously stunned. She kneeled beside him and looked at him worriedly but also a little suspicious. What had this woman meant by 'you're not fitting in here'? He was a demigod, right? And they always kept telling him this was the only safe place for demigods… but was it?

"Now that I think of it… it's logical. His father Neptune is said to be god of the ocean, yes. But he's also the god of storms and earthquakes, being called the earth shaker in many parts of literature. It seems as if his powers over earth are more minor though." Hazel had spoken, logical as ever as she sat next to him on the other side, glaring at him. Percy soon smiled at her, apologizing.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier, Hazel. Didn't know water caused you to panic so much. You must hate me as a water-guy, he?" he laughed dryly and his fingers sank into the snow below. He was getting cold now that they weren't fighting any more. Hazel just shook her head and motioned that it was alright. It wasn't his fault he had those powers. Still, she wasn't thrilled to sit next to him. But she would manage somehow. After all, Lupa allowed him to join first legion. She would see him every day from now on. And the daughter of Minerva still wasn't sure how he was related to Jason's disappearance. That was something she wanted to find out as well.

"You alright?" Reyna asked, touching his back as if being unsure if she should do so. Percy just shook his head, whipping sweat off his forehead. He noticed how worn out he must look right now.

"Fine. I just guess that losing your memory, going through Lupa's stupid test, rescuing Dakota, fighting you, being burnt in the head by Gwen, being humiliated at archery, learning a whole mass of Latin, fighting Bob, training with Lupa, fighting these giant six-armed monsters and shaking the earth is a little too much for one day." He laughed dryly and stroke through his black hair. Reyna and Hazel just smiled and nodded. He really had gone through much for today, even the tough Roman soldiers had to admit that. Finally, Reyna stood up, helping Percy to his feet.

"You know what? Maybe you should take a little rest in your tent. Just an hour or two. You can take the climbing and first aid training another day. I'm being generous today and won't tell Lupa about it. I think you already know a little about Nectar and Ambrosia though, having swallowed so much of it today."

"Oh yeah, I'm definitely not doing _that_ again." He had to ironically laugh for himself now as the two soldiers went back to the wolves with him, riding back to camp.

Maybe he wasn't really one of them. But he started to get a little more comfortable around the people in this camp. It took them some time, but eventually they would come to accept him and warm up a little. The words the earth woman said bothered him though but he didn't quite know what to do about it.

He wondered if he would ever fit in here, and if not, where the Hades he really belonged.

* * *

_Hey, no cliffhanger this time! I'm proud of myself XD I tend to put a little bit too much drama into things. Well anyway, I hope it's still interesting enough for you!...? And I tried to make the Romans accept him just a little bit for his actions now. Just a little...  
_

**_Please tell me what you thought while reading! ;)_**


	27. Legion Meeting

_September, 10th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hey guys and girls! :)_

_Gods, I'm so, SO terribly sorry. Don't worry, I'm not stopping this project. I just want to apologize that this chapter may not be what you waited for ^^". Chapter 27 was originally a Greek chapter but _Carter Lee Grace_ is busy right now so I need somebody else to look into the chapters. I already have someone though but it could take a little time, so no promises. If I'm in need, I'll tell you. Thanks for all the people who suggested their help last time, I really appreciate it! :3_

_But since _Mcat9905_ is so fast (I love you for that, thanks so much again *hugs*), I can upload more Roman chapters until then. Better than nothing. So, a little trouble there but I'll keep going. I'm stubborn that way. :D_

_**Btw**, something I wanted to mention: No, I'm not going to rush just because some of you want Annabeth and Percy to meet. **Edit (Sep 11th)**: I went a little overboard here last night. Guess I was just really pissed XD The essence of my rant was that I don't want to rush my story just because some of you want PercAbeth action as fast as possible. There's going to be couple-action and fluff, only later on. Please be patient with me :) Trust me, it's going to be more authentic than when they suddenly appear at Roman Camp and go all about "Do you remember me?" "Oh gods, Annabeth, I missed you!". If you want something like that, please read the thousands of other fics that are out there. Just want to say that I'm trying to make my story a little more realistic ^^ So please stop asking about it.__  
_

_Hope you still like it, Percy again this time! And yeah, Gwen is important. I like how she turned out here, she's fun to write. :)_ _Again, sorry for my long Intro...haha._

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXVII**_

**Percy**

Getting back in the Roman camp obviously wasn't as easy as getting out. Not just because of the whole mist-problem. It even seemed to disorient the wolves below them, and Percy himself wasn't able to tell in which direction they were going. One thing was clear: It was impossible for any human being to pass through this forest and find the Castra Roma. He wasn't even able to see his own hands clearly, which were buried in the wolf's brownish fur.

No, there was also the hindrance that Lupa seemed to await them. Percy began to hate that this she-wolf was in control. She was like some kind of scary dictator or something. Her gaze towards them was furious but also meaningful and… what, worried? Would she actually care? The teenager must've imagined the expression, because when they reached the glowing wolf-goddess, all feelings in her eyes were gone and they were just… cold, as always. Bobby, Gwen, and Dakota were standing next to her, and there were also two other wolves. As soon as they reached the goddess, the wolves on which Percy, Reyna and Hazel sat bowed slightly so they were forced to step from their backs, and then vanished behind Lupa, who now eyed all three of them… but mainly Percy.

"Where have you been? You know very well that it is sentenced to be a great mistake and connected with heavy punishment if you leave the Castra Roma, especially at a time like this." Her expression was grim and she still stared at Percy, giving him a really bad feeling. Did she think this was his fault? Well, in some way… it was. But still, he didn't think he had anything to do with that dirt woman or something… and what did she mean, 'at a time like this?'

"Madame Lupa, we deeply apologize. It was my fault." Hazel had stepped forward and her words made Percy's seagreen eyes widen. _What?_ But it wasn't! He was the one scaring her, right? Why would she now take the blame on her? Alright, he didn't want to be blamed either but putting the blame on someone else was just… wrong! The teenager wanted to open his mouth but as soon as he moved, Hazel shot him a very meaningful glance from the side. _'Say something and I'll be mad at you for the rest of your __poor__, meaningless little life.' _So he kept quiet, even if everything in his mind told him not to. Somehow, he got the feeling that having a daughter of Minerva as an enemy wasn't such a bright idea. Again, this seemed to be a familiar thought, but it vanished again.

Lupa tilted her head, waiting for Hazel to continue. However, Percy had the feeling that she knew the daughter of Minerva was lying. But she just bought it, waiting for the outcome.

"_I… spied on you and Percy training. I feared that you spotted me and I just ran off into the forest."_ She paused, rubbing her upper arm nervously. Again, Latin. Meh, this was going to get difficult. He still didn't fully understand everything, though listening was far easier than speaking for himself, so Percy just decided to concentrate and try to follow what Hazel said. The daughter of Minerva soon continued. "_When I stopped and noticed that I had left the borders, it was already too late because the mist started moving. It seems Percy noticed me running off and contacted Reyna, Bobby and Gwen."_

As soon as Hazel stopped, Lupa nodded knowingly. Her gaze was still emotionless but she now looked at Hazel instead of Percy. The silver glow in her eyes became more intense when her gaze wandered over Hazel's clothes which were of course still wet but she didn't comment on it.

"It's a shame that you fell to fear. The punishment will await you this evening." She concluded, obviously buying Hazel's excuse. Percy was relieved but still worried. And he felt bad for this, after all, he should be getting the punishment, not Hazel. Even if it was entirely unfair to get punishment just for showing fear. But hey, that's just another crazy thing about this camp he had to swallow. Suddenly, Reyna stepped forward, her eyes full of questions.

"_Madame __Lupa__, we met someone or… something in the forest. It was attacking Hazel…" _she paused, waiting if Lupa wanted to listen to this. And she did want to, it even seemed to Percy as if she was waiting for it, her eyes becoming a little wider.

"Please, continue, Reyna Guerra." She said, examining Reyna closely.

"_It seemed to be a woman who was sleeping, her face formed out of the earth below. She sent monsters with six arms at us and after we killed them, she tried to… convince Percy to join her, calling him son of Poseidon and saying that he defeated her strongest __son, that__ he had power inside of him and she would be able to give him back his memories. That he didn't fit in here. After he didn't fall for it, she claimed to want us all killed and that we couldn't hurt her… then Percy made her disappear by stabbing his sword in the earth and causing some kind of earthquake."_ Reyna sighed, looking at Percy from the side. He smiled at her, glad that Reyna left out how tempted he had been to step into the swirling dirt. At least she did as far as he understood. Then the daughter of Mars looked back at Lupa, who now lowered her head, deeply in thought.

"So she finally made her move…" she murmured, then looked up at them, eyeing every single soldier present. Finally, she sighed if wolfs were able to do that- and turned around, motioning them to follow her. Her gaze had rested on Percy a little longer, as if she saw him clearly for the first time. It gave the green eyed boy a nervous feeling again, but he followed after the goddess. As he looked to the side, he saw Reyna next to him, and how her lips were still trying to hold back all the questions that were in her mind. Percy was having the same questions in his mind, but he could understand why Reyna was holding them back. She wanted to avoid more punishment from Lupa. This time she would be killed for sure.

Nonetheless, not knowing what was going on wasn't really satisfying either. So as they walked, Percy firstly felt miserable because he just wanted to drop over and sleep. And secondly, he kept walking closer to Reyna, pulling her by the sleeve so she would fall back with him. At first, she kept pulling her arm out but as Percy's sea green eyes shot her a meaningful look, she seemed to understand and let herself fall back from the others a little. Dakota and the others noticed but kept quiet about it so none of the wolves would see them.

"Reyna, how about a meeting tonight? Something's going on that Lupa isn't telling us, right?" First, the daughter of Mars seemed to get mad at him. She narrowed her eyes to slits and glared at him from the side.

"You're a little too early to be announcing meetings in our legion, newbie." She pursed her lips, obviously thinking about it. "But yes, in a way, you're right. But it'll be difficult with the wolves and several soldiers patrolling. It's best you stay in your tent since you don't know how to trick them all yet. We'll come to tent three at midnight." She smiled as if she enjoyed it how Percy was just all about avoiding rules. Since he arrived here this morning, the son of Neptune must've ignored more rules than Reyna did in her entire life. But she quickly shook the thought away. That wasn't something positive, right?

Soon, they reached the Castra without a problem. Lupa seemed to know the way in her sleep because the mist didn't bow that much as they passed through it with the wolf goddess. Another negative feeling searched through Percy as they crossed the boarders. Again, he felt like he shouldn't be here. He just didn't belong here at all. The behaving of these soldiers was just not what he considered comfortable, and if they told him he should stay here his whole life, he could consider becoming suicidal. The only glimmer of light for him was that he seemed to have a rather pleasant past. Of course he didn't remember much of it, but didn't that dirt woman call it fun times? Apparently, it had sounded sarcastic from her mouth. But still, there was something positive there, he was just sure of it.

When they made their way to the meadow where the tents were placed, Lupa ordered them to go back to their activities. Reyna nodded to Percy, who immediately understood. Sadly, this was the moment that all his tired feelings returned and he stumbled, almost falling over. The soldier next to him caught the demigod, it was Reyna. The black haired boy decided that landing on a metal armor wasn't really the greatest thing in the world. Plus, the stare that Bobby gave him might was well kill him right on the spot. Lucky for Percy, Lupa had already vanished into midair again, so Reyna just smiled slightly and steadied him over her shoulder.

"Yes, you should definitely rest a little. Gwen, you're bringing him to his tent, he can't eat any more godly food today." She helped Gwen to rest Percy on her shoulder so one of his arms was around her neck. Again, Percy was impressed at how much strength the girls around here possessed even though they looked like normal girls you met on the street. The other members of the legions dismissed in several directions after Reyna told them of the planned meeting. Bobby and Hazel didn't seem to be that thrilled, but they just nodded and walked away. As soon as he was alone with Gwendolyn, walking towards tent 3, he felt a lot more uncomfortable. He noticed that he had never been alone with her until now.

"Hey… sorry you have to do this. You must think I'm a weakling now." He smirked and looked at her from the side. The boy already noticed how the others soldiers began staring at him again, now their gazes were mainly amused, in a bad way. Gwen noticed how he was looking around him and smiled.

"Don't worry about them. They're probably just jealous. Plus, I don't think you're weak at all. You've been through much more than a normal soldier is at his first day here, and from what I've seen until now, you're a really strong demigod. It often appears that strong demigods need to rest more than others if they used too much of their power. And the magic spell I laid on you normally knocks you out for several hours, maybe days, and in some cases, it's deadly. But you just stood up again after a few minutes. No, I definitely don't think you're weak."

Now that they reached his tent, he had to open it for Gwen. The daughter of Apollo told him that she could follow him inside if he politely invites her there. Otherwise, you could never know what a god would do, especially someone as moody as Neptune. So Percy invited her inside and she helped him to his hammock. As soon as he was lying in there, the female soldier began to look around amazed.

"Wow… this tent looks extremely comfortable. Nothing like I expected it to be." Percy raised an eyebrow at those words. Yeah, he was pretty tired already, but on the other hand, he wanted to ask Gwen quite a few things. She was the oracle after all, maybe she did know more than it appeared. Somehow he had the feeling that he knew a girl of the same type as her, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Why shouldn't it be comfortable?" he asked, his eyes narrowed a little because of the confusion. From the hammock above him, he grabbed a blanket and unfurled it over his body. Gwen hiked her shoulders and sat down on a chair that she found by the work desk that Percy hadn't even noticed the last time he had been here. She placed it next to his hammock and smiled slightly.

"You know, I've never been in here. Only sons of Neptune can open it and we haven't had one in at least a hundred years, according to Lupa. I've been inside of Jupiter's tent, and that one is rather cold, made completely out of marble and all white… Not comfortable." She concluded, still smiling. Percy now noticed how she always did around him, and wondered if she had the same… interests towards him as Dakota showed. Somehow, he couldn't quite handle girls who acted this way, so he had to look away. Finally though, he decided to just ask, he would never know her reason otherwise.

"Why are you like this towards me? The others just seem to be mistrustful, but you and Dakota just… accept this. How come?" he didn't look her in the eyes while asking, just fingered the necklace around his neck, as if it was an old habit of his. Gwen's smile faded, but then she suddenly began to laugh really loud. The tent had closed up behind them, but Percy was still sure it could be heard at the meadow outside.

"Oh, I'm not like Dakota." She giggled, unable to stop. The son of the sea god was extremely relieved by that statement. At least not another girl like that. He just couldn't handle those, that was one thing he was sure of. When Gwen finally calmed down a little, she continued.

"I'm just really curious what is going on here. See, the vision I got told me more than I admitted to the others. You're no normal soldier, Percy. Your appearance means a great change to this Castra, and in fact, to our whole world. But with their closed minds, Reyna and the others might not see you as that positive change you're supposed to be. When they find out who you really are, they may think of you as an enemy. The oracle didn't tell me what she meant by that, but I'm sure that she wants me to try and protect you from that fate." She paused, looking down at her fingers and playing around with them. It was then that Percy noticed how she was the only one in the legion who really showed her feelings, positive or negative, and that she appeared a lot shyer than, for example Reyna, Hazel, or Dakota were. She sighed now, looking back up at Percy who tried to half sit in his hammock, which wasn't quite an easy task.

"I was never the strongest soldier, and always wondered why Lupa even allowed me in the first Legion. Jason was the one to tell me that I was also important, that my powers mattered, even if my siblings always tell me I'm a failure. Even my mother…" she stopped again, seemingly unable to talk any further. Percy now smiled honestly, reaching forward to grab her shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright. Thanks for helping me. I guess having Reyna and Hazel as an enemy wouldn't be that pleasant. And I also think that this Jason guy was right. You're very important to the Legion. Firstly, they need you as a healer. You're also pretty awesome at archery -in contradiction to me for example- and this oracle thing is also vitally important. And there's another precious thing about you." He seemed to think about the right choice of words for this. Gwen seemed to have lack of confidence though with her powers, but she could be really powerful and outstanding.

"I think you're also the most natural one among them." He dropped back into his hammock completely, crossing his arms behind his neck and staring at the ceiling. "Most of the soldiers here are just so stiff, and don't show their feelings. In my opinion, that can't be healthy if you do it your whole life. I have the feeling that wherever I used to live, things were definitely not that strict. Sorry but that's just...driving me nuts." He shook his head, grinning sheepishly. Gwendolyn also smiled now, whipping her eyes a little.

"Thank you, Percy. That really means a lot to me. And yeah, it annoys all of us a little, even Reyna. She's often not showing it, but sometimes she _does_ complain about the rules. Especially when it came to finding Jason. Plus, we're used to it, and since we're taught to hold traditions near, none of us are really thrilled about changes when it comes to our life here. Hold still now, I'll give you a little of your stamina back so you can at least stay awake until dinner and pretend to be alright around Lupa. Remember, she hates seeing weakness, so you better be up until then."

And with that, their conversation pretty much ended. Percy held still and let Gwen heal him, again impressed by her abilities. While she did so, the two demigods talked a little more, mainly about the Castra and some of their traditions, like the ritual fire in the evening. They often called it a "campfire", though it wasn't really like one, because they just sang hymns to the gods to calm them, Lupa honored some extraordinary soldiers, punishes others, and then they were sent to bed.

Dinner flew by quickly, and Percy, sitting at his table alone as always, began to think about Gwen's words. They all disliked how they are forced to act here, but he also got the feeling that it was still rooted in their minds, this way of thinking. It wasn't like he wanted to actively change them or something. That was impossible, honestly. But the green eyed teenager wondered what their words about Greeks meant. He didn't feel that Hazel was right about what she said, how the Greek religion faded a long time ago. It just didn't feel… right!

So when they finally sat at the ritual fire Percy agreed with Gwen that you couldn't call that campfire. He had the feeling that he had been at one, and this one didn't resemble his impression of a campfire at all. He began to wonder why they were all so sure about this whole fading thing. Also, this earth woman wouldn't leave his head. Her words were like a virus, trying to feed on his brain, but the teenager didn't want to give in. He kept telling himself that it was impossible for him to turn his back on these people. Yes, he only arrived here today, but being here was ten times better than falling for that earth woman. Because now he knew that she was evil. And something told him that he would never want to become evil. It was as if he was reminded of something, a bad experience. Somebody he knew that went through something similar. But that wasn't possible, was it…?

Another hard experience was to watch Hazel with her punishment. She was sentenced forward, and Lupa told the other soldiers how this was a punishment for falling for fear, and they should all be warned to receive the same. As the goddess ended her sentence, Percy had the feeling that she was glaring at him alone, who was sitting alongside the crowd now. Hazel's punishment was that she had to stand still and stiff while a broad son of Mars stepped forward and pulled out a knife. Percy's blood froze at the imagination of what he was about to do. But it wasn't what he thought. The boy -his name was Ben- pulled on Hazel's arm and in the flickering firelight, Percy was able to see the tattoo on it. The son of Mars now smiled with delight and glared at Hazel who returned the glare with no fear visible. He raised the knife and turned Hazel's arm around so the upper part of her hand was visible. There, he cut into her skin with the knife, building up a large and horrible "F". While this ceremony was held, Percy felt his hands shaking with growing rage. He was about to yell that it was his fault, not Hazel's and that they should try and cut his skin instead of hers. The only thing holding him back was Gwen next to him who grabbed him by the arm and told him not to listen to his temper and calm down, because if he snapped, it'd just make everything worse. Besides that, she promised to personally treat Hazel's wound before they went to bed, there wouldn't even remain a scar. It was hard not to stand up and tell them his opinion but he managed somehow, even if it was_ really_ close.

They were finally sent to bed and Percy couldn't help but sleep immediately. It was 10 o' clock, and he felt like he had been up all night. Even though the pictures of this absolutely disgusting ritual just now kept being present in his head.

After a few seconds of sleep -or so it seemed to him-, someone slapped the fabric of the tent from the outside, causing a sound like a knock on wood at the inside. Percy grumbled, and as the sound became loader, cursed. He got out of his hammock, almost fell over while walking to the door and finally managed to get his hand flat on the wall. The tent recognized him and opened the entrance, showing him who had knocked. It was Reyna, obviously a little bugged.

"Finally. Don't tell me you actually slept? It was you who suggested this, stupid!" she punched him in the arm and Percy was awake immediately.

"Ouch! Yeah yeah, come inside." He threw her an annoyed glance and guided the others inside, who were behind the daughter of Mars, looking just as tired as he felt. Well, despite Hazel. Of course, the daughter of Minerva was the seriousness in person. She had a bandage on her hand but didn't even look at Percy for another word about her actions. The teenager was getting really pissed off by this girl. He closed the door of the tent behind them after peeking outside and being astonished that they really made it here without getting spotted. He needed to show up at the next sneaking lesson with Mercury's tent.

All demigods of the first legion took their seats inside his tent. They formed a perfect circle on the floor, since there weren't enough chairs for all of them. Percy found a candle inside one of the lanterns and lit it for them, since he wasn't sure about turning on the big light in the middle of the night. It came out really mysterious how they sat there, everything was dark despite the light of the candle lighting their faces from below. Reyna cleared her throat and looked around, her face serious.

"With that, let the meeting of the first legion begin."

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_Harsh Lupa is being harsh and Gwen turns out to be more serious than she first appears to be! The meeting begins, what will come of it? *enter dramatic sound effect here*_

**Hope you liked it! Please tell me what you thought of my writing and thanks if you do! I appreciate all the comments even if I don't have the time to answer them all x_x**

**I love you guys, good night! *2 am here***


	28. Revealing Dreams

_September, 13th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
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**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
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**A/N:** _Hey there, loyal readers! :)  
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_Mh...the Greek chapter keeps lying around in my files and I can't submit it because the beta-problem arises again *sigh* Well, that's my problem, not yours, theoretically. Though it'd be interesting to know if some of you have enough time to assist me. And it has to be MUCH time since I'm pretty demanding to be honest xD.  
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_Other than that, the Romans are still a few days before the Greek so we need to catch up anyway xD Prepare for a (hopefully) good Roman chapter, take out your popcorn! :D  
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___**Please enjoy!**_

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_**Chapter XXVIII**_

**Percy**

Alright, this was getting really fuzzy. Again, Percy found himself in a circle of soldiers that started talking about this Jason guy. Really, the first half of the conversation was about him and how strange it was in which ways Percy resembled him. He hated it. Not that he didn't understand how they missed him -he found out that Jason had been here for about 12 years- but hey, he was an individual, right? And he didn't even ever hear of this guy named Jason, son of Jupiter. By the way, why was this Jason the second demigod beside Gwen to not have a last name?

Besides that, Dakota, who was clinging to his arm, wasn't really being helpful either. She handled him like a live sized doll, which was another thing that just kept annoying him. On the other hand, it was hard to tell her to go away. The daughter of Venus was one of the few people here that seemed to fully accept him. If he was being honest, he didn't really want to lose that. Plus, it was strange to him how his feelings didn't even budge when it came to an attractive girl like Dakota. And she really was gorgeous. Her hair was so long and curly that it almost reached her waist, even if she pulled it together in a ponytail, or another one of those hairstyles she seemed to experiment with. Since Percy was here -and that was only a day- she had already worn it, like, three different ways, all of them rather complicated, but still practical for fighting. Her blue eyes could hypnotize any man in reach with their glint, and her features were just flawless. Percy even noticed that she wasn't wearing much make-up, just some on her eyelashes and lids and lipstick on her full lips. She didn't need more, and the amazing thing was that it always seemed to fit with what she was wearing, always. From what he learned about the Castra today, many boys were crushing at her and kept looking after her. He himself earned countless evil glances wherever he went, probably because they heard that Dakota had greeted him by jumping on him and stroking through his hair… well, you know the scene. Even thinking about it made him all embarrassed again. And despite all her beauty and powerful, intimidating aura, Percy wasn't effected a bit. As he said, he thought of her as beautiful, yes. But whenever he thought this word or tried to picture love-like feelings for the opposite sex, that other girl just kept appearing in his head. From the experiment this noon, this was the only thing that seemed to remain in his memory. Her face just struck him like a lightning bolt, wandering down his back and being strangely strong at the opposite site of his navel. He wondered again what this was supposed to mean. Whenever he thought of this spot, the thought alone made him nervous…

The teenager was shaken out of his thoughts when Reyna addressed him. He had been paying no attention at all, not wanting to hear more about that Jason-discussion. This was not what he wanted this meeting to be for.

"Hey, Percy! Pay attention when I talk!" she punched him in the side, since she was the one sitting to his right, while Dakota sat at his left, still leaning her head against his shoulder and practically hugging his arm. Reyna seemed pissed off, so he decided that paying attention was the best choice now. Finally, the daughter of Mars continued. Apparently, they had changed the subject while Percy had spaced off. Now he felt just stupid for not listening to their conversation. He rubbed his arm where Reyna hit him, even if it didn't really hurt much.

"Okay, same question again: What do you think did the earth woman mean by saying 'you are not aware of your full power yet, and you defeated my son.'?" Her hazel colored eyes seemed to pierce through him, trying to get him to answer just by staring at him. Hazel pretty much gave him the same stare. Why were these two so imperious? This was starting to freak him out.

"I don't know… how could I? If you, with all you know about mythology, couldn't figure out who she is, how should I know who her freaking son is?" he held his hands in front of his chest -as much as that was possible with Dakota clasping to his upper arm- in an act of defense. Reyna seemed to see his point there and just sighed, dropping back with her upper body so she was practically lying on the floor of Percy's tent, staring at the ceiling.

"Damn it. I don't understand all of this. There are so many questions unanswered and Lupa just won't tell us! This isn't fair." She slammed her hands to her face and pressed her lips together as if holding back tears. No, that wasn't possible, right? Reyna of all people would be the last one he'd expect to break down in tears. Was it all because of this Jason guy? Bobby leaned back as well, gently touching Reyna's shoulder and trying to comfort her. This was the first time Percy saw him act this way. Suddenly, he felt the urge to say something comforting, even if for him, there was nothing comforting about this at all. But he just sensed that it was necessary for him to get along with these people. Plus, he had begun to like them, even though he hated how they became actors in front of Lupa, and they didn't except him even a tiny bit -well, some of them.

"Look, I've only been here a day, but..." he stopped, smiling slightly thought it was more like a cocky grin. He felt everyone's eyes on him because of the tone in his voice which he tried to make reassuring.

"...one thing is clear: You are all tough Roman soldiers. Weren't the Roman known for their military strength that kept them the largest empire for such a long time? This situation may seem hard right now, but as you said, gods often have a reason to hold information back from us. I was sent here for a reason, and I'm sure that together, we may be able to find this Jason you keep talking about. If he really is the son of Jupiter, he should be strong enough to hold out the time we need to find him, right? Maybe you should just abandon your addiction to this she-wolf and do something by yourselves! She doesn't possess you or something after all." His speech was followed by a long, strange silence that Percy wasn't really able to describe properly. There was amazement, hope and…

"Oh gods, that was…gay." Bobby suddenly brought out of his mouth, slowly sitting up from beside Reyna and holding it together so he wouldn't just burst out laughing. Hazel nodded, also shaking her head slightly.

"Yeah, and there's no way we can just abandon Lupa. She was like a mother to us for so long, a rude one, yes, but still a mother. Plus, we don't have the power to just leave here. Trust me, we already tried that." She looked to the ground as if his speech didn't touch her at all. Percy suddenly wanted to sink into the floor. Why did he think those stiff soldiers would be inspired by those words? Well because he meant it…

"I think he's right." Dakota suddenly exclaimed next to him, looking at him and her smile whipped all his worries away. Yes, he didn't feel the same way about Dakota, but he certainly liked the support he got from her. Gwen was also smiling at him as if his speech really touched her. Even Reyna seemed to think about it.

"Yeah, in a way… he really is right. We're making too much of a fuss about Jason's disappearance and not doing something. I think we should try to make the best of it. We can't escape, and there's no quest we can be assigned to…" the daughter of Mars also sat up, looking at all of their faces.

"There's another war ahead. The prophecy is starting, am I right, Gwen?" her gaze rested at the daughter of Apollo, who slowly started to nod. She had been quiet the whole meeting long, staring either at Percy, Reyna or the ground.

"Yes… it is." She finally said, her face deadly serious as if this was bad news. The black haired boy had to blink. What the heck was she talking about?

"Excuse me but… what do you mean by 'the prophecy'?" he raised his eyebrows and his green eyes wandered from face to face, waiting for a clear answer. Hazel finally sighed and decided to give the explanation.

"See, this summer, after we defeated the Titan Krios and destroyed Kronos' palace-"

"Wait." Percy interrupted her, holding up a hand and his expression was really confused and also filled with pain. His head started acting up at these words. "This isn't right… Krios fled and the palace just crumbled when Kronos was defeated…" it was as if he heard of this before… and this story was not fitting with what he had in his head at least he thought so. Hazel's eyes became slits and the stormy grey seemed to stare him down, just so she could get more information out of him. He just interrupted her, which she also didn't appreciate very much.

"No… I don't even know how you could possibly know of the war at all, but one thing is sure: Jason defeated Krios with his own hands, we helped him, and the Titan definitely didn't just flee. The palace was destroyed with the force of all our legions and when most of us got back to the Castra safely, Lupa reported that the gods took down Typhon and made it to the throne room just in time to stop Kronos from gaining his full power. Now would you let me talk already?" her tone was imperious and Percy decided to just shut up. However, the more Hazel had said, the more the story had sounded wrong. The gods stopped Kronos? This was so not true… But he didn't say a thing, just clenched his fists in his lap and tightened the muscles on his jaw. So Hazel finally nodded, obviously satisfied that he actually did shut up already. Still, she seemed even more distrustful with him than before… if that was even possible.

"Alright. So when we got back from the war and it was over, Gwen here received a prophecy from the oracle directly. Those things are very rare, Lupa told us that the last time this happened was like 70 years ago, when the last great prophecy was delivered. She said that if the next prophecy came, that would mean that the last one was fulfilled, we might not even notice so. Gwen collapsed in the middle of the meadow and recited the following…" Hazel looked up to Gwen, who nodded and opened her mouth. Was it just him or were her eyes turning a little more green?

"_Septem__ semi-__dei__respondebunt__ rumor_

_Per __tempestas__aut__ignis__ mundus __cadebit__-"_

Suddenly, something struck Percy in the back of his head. In the middle of the sentence, the son of Neptune suddenly straightened and his seagreen eyes went wide. He looked at Gwen and just continued what she had begun…

"_An oath to keep with a final breath_

_and__ foes bear arms at the Doors of Death."_

He spoke out load, but suddenly, the jolt left and he had an empty head again, wondering what that was now. Where did those words come from? Rubbing his hurting forehead, it took him a while to notice that every one of them was staring at him. Dakota had let go of his arm, her blue eyes looking at his face in wonder and complete shock. Finally, Gwendolyn caught her breath again.

"How… you just finished the prophecy. How is this even possible…" she muttered under her breath, her hands had flown to her mouth while she now began shaking her head in disbelief. Starting to feel even more uncomfortable, Percy cleared his throat and tried to smile a little though his head didn't really allow it because it was still buzzing like Hades.

"Er I… don't know, really. It just… sort of hit me and came out… sorry?" but they kept staring until finally, Hazel snapped. She stood up and first, Percy though she would attack him. His hand already flew to his pocket, ready to uncap Riptide but instead, Hazel just cursed in Latin and began to walk up and up in the room.

"Alright, that does it! I'm not going to buy Lupa's story about just trusting him. You know what, this is totally crazy anyway!" Somehow, Percy wasn't quite sure who exactly she was talking to. He wanted to ask her but Dakota lifted a hand and pressed one her index fingers to his lips as if telling him to shut up. The daughter of Venus shook her pretty head as a warning. No interrupting Hazel any more, got it… All of a sudden, Hazel turned to him and pointed at the green eyed demigod.

"How do you know the prophecy? How do you know about Olympus, and how could you just appear to know things about the war when you couldn't possibly have fought in it! What if you-" but she had to interrupt herself. From outside the tent, a loud and spooky howl could be heard that gave Percy the creeps. All of the present soldiers suddenly stopped their staring and started to get really nervous. Reyna chewed her lip and stood up.

"We have to leave." She concluded shortly and the others immediately followed her example, stood up and walked to the exit. Alright… what was that about now?

"H-hey, why are you in such a hurry?" he asked, getting up and sprinting after them. The five soldiers were already by the door and Dakota turned around, her voice suddenly a nervous whisper.

"This howl means the wolves discovered something is wrong. Either we were attacked -which is impossible- or they saw we are missing or heard us or… well, it's bad. We better not be discovered in here. Good night, Percy." She quickly leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek without even thinking much about it. Her own cheeks were slightly red but she smiled at him and finally vanished. Gwen nodded at him with a smile but the rest of them just left without another word, Bobby and Hazel giving him one last death stare.

When he was finally alone, Percy sighed. He rubbed a hand over the cheek were Dakota had kissed him and wondered when he was supposed to tell her he didn't feel the same way. And those death stares he constantly got were also weighting him down. After standing behind the entrance for at least five minutes, he decided to go back to bed. A good night's sleep would be healthy after such a long day. So he blew out the candle and fell back into his hammock, suddenly deadly tired again.

His green eyes fixed on the wall on the opposite side of the room, although he could barely make it out through all the darkness before him. After just a few minutes, he closed his eyes, still deep in thought. But it didn't last long because sleep overtook him like some force was telling him to finally visit the wide land of dreams…

_Around him, a scene began to form. He was sitting at a long beach embedded with white sand. __No, not he himself.__ But he was watching himself, he assumed. Today, the son of Neptune had seen his reflection in a mirror of the __Castra__ infirmary. It had only been a short moment but enough for him to know how he looked like and that this here before him was himself, sitting at the beach and staring at a necklace. On second glance, he noticed that it was the same necklace he had been wearing before arriving in the __Castra__. Curious about what he was dreaming about, his gaze wandered behind him. He could only see dunes of grass and sand but in the distance, smoke was coming from somewhere and it smelled like wonderful things that were cooking. And the smell was familiar somehow. It must've been around summer there, the air felt warm and he was wearing only an orange shirt and shorts, his bare feet resting in the water._

"_Percy? Aren't you coming for dinner?" both of them turned -his dream self and he himself- only to see the blonde girl he had pictured in his head so often today, because it was the only thing he knew of as a connection to his past…_

* * *

_Percy tried to reassure the Romans and they don't go for it? Dakota made her first move and Hazel's done with trusting Percy? Percy's finally meeting Annabeth (in his dreams but...still!)?_

**How did you like it? Good? Bad? Tell me! :)**_  
_


	29. A bitter Warning

_September, 17th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hey there, loyal readers! :)  
_

_Again, no Greek Chapter for you D: I'm sorry, this needs to be fixed. But the Romans have time to catch up anyway xP And I enjoy writing Percy just too much, I know :D. But hey, let me be, I love it xP Hope you do too ;P Not much to say but that I'm more busy than I usually am and that's why there's less talking and more uploading. Thanks again for the many reviews, I love you all, you're too nice to me ;_;. And I put too much effort in the planning of this story that I could just quit it when the book comes out. So no doubt, it'll be continued! :o _

_This chapter is really important btw. I enjoyed writing it very much, especially the end...  
_

___**Please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXIX**_

**Percy**

He woke with a start, when someone knocked against the wall of tent number three with full force. The annoying sound started to pound in his head, and he finally groaned and forced himself to sit up. Who had the nerves to interrupt his sleep when he had only lasted about… a few seconds? Like in trance, he walked over to the door and touched the wall next to it, so the tent would open for whoever stood before it. He was so sleepy that he didn't even notice how he just stood there in his boxers.

"What?" came out of his mouth and it sounded harsher than he had meant it to be. But the demigod felt like it was still the middle of the night, even when sunlight started to blind him after he opened the tent. It also took him a while to make out who was standing before him. It was Reyna and she didn't even flinch when she saw him like this. Her hands pushed him inside and closed the door behind her so nobody would start staring at him and his… well, outfit.

"It's six o' clock, time for the morning march. You better get dressed or Lupa will eat you for breakfast when you appear like that in front of her." Her voice was cool and she sounded fully awake, her brown eyes normally open and she stood there in full armor over her purple colored shirt. Percy himself couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"6 o' clock? Are you kidding me? That' the middle of the night! No way I'm going to get up for some...march!" he looked at her like she had just announced to stop fighting and start a career as a ballet dancer. Finally, his seagreen eyes had opened up fully just to stare at the daughter of Mars, and this wasn't really the most pleasant way to open your lids when they were still full of sleep. Reyna just rolled her imperious eyes at him and sighed.

"Yes, you _will _show up to that march or feel the consequences. Be grateful, I let you sleep in today because of your first day yesterday. Normally, waking up is at 5:30 in the morning. Here, put that over your purple shirt and see if it fits. And don't dare pull over a sweater, it's very important to wear the shirt." The demigod hadn't even noticed until now but in her lap, she had a few purple shirts, another sweater and a full Roman armor, which she now dropped on the table in the corner of his room. How she managed to get this all here and still be able to close the door and everything, Percy had no idea.

"But… we just got to bed at 2 o' clock! Wouldn't 'sleeping in' be a little longer, like… 10 or something?" he suggested with hope swinging in his voice. But Reyna just began to laugh dryly and shook her head.

"Oh no. Nobody knows of our meeting so that doesn't count. What does count are the seven and a half hours you normally get for sleeping. According to Lupa, that's the exact time a soldier needs. At the moment, there are winter holidays where the weak demigods get in for training. In February, the morning march is far earlier. Don't be such a girl and get dressed already." She looked at him coldly but Percy could swear he saw a little understanding in her brown eyes. But maybe it was just his imagination. Finally, Percy nodded in agreement and sighed. Reyna left the room to give him his space and said to meet up with her at the white main house in five minutes.

To his surprise, the armor fit perfectly. It was as if it was made for his body. The breast plate fit the size of his muscles, and the leather things on his arms and legs also weren't too small or big for him. Alright, he needed a while to figure out how to fasten the Roman shoulder pads but as soon as everything was into place, he felt great. The weight didn't even bother him that much.

After fully dressing himself, Percy finally made it outside. And he immediately regretted it. Over the night, the temperature had fallen in the valley. The whole meadow was full of hoarfrost and it was freaking cold! The boy was only wearing his T-shirt as Reyna had told him- and began to wonder what the hell the reason for this was. Well, he happened to find out very quickly. At the white marble house, all, really all of the campers were gathered. Percy had never realized how many they were. Over 70 people at least, from the age of 5 up to maybe 20 or even older. Wondering why the young folks didn't go to school or something, he joined this… army with his eyebrows raised. He met up with Reyna as promised, who stood in the front of them all, her arms stemmed in her waist. As almost always, her gaze was imperious and she glared at all of them, nodding at Percy as a greeting when he walked up to them. Realizing, how many people here gave him the death stare, he asked himself just what he had done to make them all mad. Was it because he joined the first legion on his first day? Maybe. He'd understand if several hard working people would be mad because of that. His thoughts were interrupted by two arms hugging him from behind.

"Morning, Percy!" a melodic voice sounded happily. Blond, curly hair flew into his sigh and suddenly, the teenager was well aware why the main part of the male soldiers were giving him those deadly glares. Second thing he was confused about was how this girl could look and act so fabulous at six o' clock in the morning. Sorry, night. Must be because of her mother, he assumed.

"Morning, Dakota." He said, managing a small smile. His green eyes looked over to the death-stare-people and he coughed slightly. His hands lifted and he forced Dakota to let go of him. Fortunately, the rest of legion one arrived just then and didn't give Dakota the chance to complain about his behavior. Reyna raised her voice and it was heard loud and clear, all over the meadow.

"Alright, everyone. You know the procedure. I and my legion run forward and the second comes after that. For today, we have 10 miles to go. Grasp your backpacks and stand in a firm formation! Start!"

On her command, the whole group moved and walked over to a whole mountain full of backpacks. Percy raised an eyebrow but followed them, smiling at Gwen for a good morning greeting. Though he still felt like falling asleep, the cold was keeping him awake. He felt like his arms froze to death. Maybe he was immune to swords, but apparently, hoarfrost didn't quite like him. Even if it was a form of water, he really preferred the liquid kind.

When he reached the mountain of giant backpacks that looked like things the military would have, he grabbed one and almost fell over. Oh goooods, these things were heavy! How could they- he interrupted himself and looked over to the other soldiers. Even the little girls and boys at the age of 5 did have rucksacks that were big enough to reach over their heads. But they didn't complain one bit, stood in line perfectly and waited for their order. Alright_, now_ there was no way to deny it anymore: These people were-completely-insane! With difficulty, he managed to get the rucksack on his back and marched to the front, where Reyna and the others were waiting. Wait a minute...didn't Reyna just say something about 10 miles? She...she was kidding, right?

As the black haired boy soon found out: She hadn't been kidding. His whole morning, the time while he would normally want to sleep, would now consist mainly in running, breaking out in sweat, falling back, being pulled to the front by an amused Bobby or Hazel and trying to hold it together so he wouldn't look like a total girl. Now he understood what the shirts were for. Even if his breath was creating little puffy clouds every time he exhaled, he still felt like his body was so warm that if he dropped over in the frozen ground right now, the whole meadow would be full of green grass again.

After a few miles though, Percy began to get used to it. He even found a method to get a relatively normal tempo that would match with the others. It was like they were some big organ that marched through the forest. Their route was mainly just around the Castra, and it was interesting to see it from this point of view. There were many hills surrounding the Camp, and you could see the surrounding land from up here. Well, as far as the thick mist would let you. And that was even thicker now in the morning than it was last afternoon.

At some point, they had reached the beach, and the Son of Neptune was reminded of last night's dream...

* * *

_She was starting to walk closer to him now, her feet brushing the beach like it was the easiest thing in the world to look graceful while walking through deep sand._

_Her hair was extremely curly and honey blonde like a princess'__s__, pulled back into a loose ponytail and creating waves down her back. Her shorts were white and the shirt she wore was bright orange but he didn't bother to take the time and read the words that were written on it. The boy was distracted by her flawless and tanned skin__,__ and most of all, those eyes__. __G__rey as if he was looking right into a thunderstorm. Intelligence emitted from them like fireworks__,__ and the look on her face was questioning while she approached his dream self, dropping in the sand next to him. He immediately knew who her godly parent was: _Athena_. Not only because her eyes resembled those of Hazel, no, __he just somehow… knew__ it._

_They were sitting very close to the waves that crushed in the sand, some of them were washing over Percy's feet but he didn't really seem to bother. He had looked up to the girl but quickly put his attention back to the necklace. _

"_Hey… no, I'm not really hungry." He responded, fingering the crystal in the middle of the beads. The girl -he really would like to at least know her name- leaned forward and smiled, lifting a hand to stroke the grey streak out of the __demigod's__ face. It was then that he noticed that the girl had just the same kind of streak beside her face and it left him with the question where the heck those came from._

"_Are you still worried about this leadership issue, seaweed brain?" she grinned and somehow, this name seemed to click something in his memories. Wasn't this an insult? Didn't feel like it… it was more like a warm feeling came from his chest at these words__,__ and he couldn't quite describe why. His dream self just smiled slightly and looked up from the necklace._

"_As always, you just keep reading my mind. I'm starting to feel a little too transparent."_

"_Oh, that's easy. Your mind is simple to read because you really _are_ simple." She duck__ed__ away__,__ but his dream self still managed to punch her in the arm._

"_Stop it, __Annabeth__. I'm not in the mood for 'you're so stupid'-jokes okay?" he sighed and leaned back in the sand, looking up at the flawless blue sky. Percy__,__ in his watching position__,__ kept looking out at the ocean. A name popped into his mind. 'Long island sound…' but before he could think __of__ more, the blonde girl interrupted his thoughts. _

"_Oh wow, did you just call me _Annabeth_? This must be really serious then." She looked impressed__,__ but still as if she was kidding__,__ and sat closer to him again. Her slim but seemingly strong hand reached out to hold his, checking him out with a gentle gaze. His dream __self began__ speaking again, doubt in his voice._

"_It __kinda__ is. I'm still not positive about this leader thing. You know, we never had such a thing as a leader bead or any other sign… why now? And I don't really feel like I should be wearing this after…" he stopped himself, his gaze became sad and the same happened to __Annabeth__. So her name was __Annabeth__… a beautiful sound. Finally, the blonde began smiling again, stroking over his hand with her thumb. _

"_Look at me, Perce." She demanded, willing for him to sit up. And he did. His __seagreen__ eyes were questioning, wondering what she would tell him now. _

"_I know the thing with Luke still upsets you -and you're not the only one- and that so many others died… but this bead." __Annabeth__ pointed at the crystal and then looked back up to him. "It's a symbol of how much we all trust you to lead us. We're all aware that the losses were unavailable__,__ and that it's not your fault. You should really keep that in mind, Seaweed Brain. We made the bead so that it is a symbol of who to look up to. It's nothing like an official title or something__,__ and if you want to give it to someone else, you could do so…" she raised one of her slim eyebrows and his dream __self seemed__ to think about it. Finally, he grinned __kinda__ cocky. _

"_Alright, I'm __gonna__ keep it. But just so you know, the _leader_ commands you to do several things this evening…" he winked at her, suddenly standing at his feet and holding out a hand to pull her up. _

"_Oh, really?__ I'm looking forward to finding out…" she smiled and for the first time didn't make a joke about just how smug that had sounded right there. She leaned in closer to him and put an arm around his neck when the black haired teenager suddenly pulled away._

"_Race you to dinner!" he grinned and began running over the dunes, letting go of her hand._

"_You never learn it, do you?" she was already behind him, keeping up with the demigod just fine__,__ and laughed at the stupid jokes he __made__ on the way. Their voices finally disappeared in the distance as Percy himself awoke._

* * *

Now, running through the woods and thinking about this dream, it was really strange what deep and pleasant feelings he got only from a dream. This may have never happened, right? But somehow, deep inside, he knew it did. It seemed familiar for him to have real dreams about things that actually happened… maybe another drag about being a demigod? Then again, this dream had raised so many other questions…

Out of nothing, his thoughts were interrupted by a high and creepy howl. It was the same as last night... almost. This time, it sounded more like panic. Wait a minute, since when could he read the howls of a wolf? He shook away his thought and came to a sudden halt. And he wasn't the only one.

Soldiers bumped into soldiers, totally messing up their perfect square shaped formation. Some seemed confused and started to whisper among each other as if wondering what to do. Others looked concerned and started to stare at Reyna, whose expression was hard to read. It was something between astonishment and worry. It was clear the others soldiers waited for an order. If it would've been Percy, he would have run out of order for a long time, his fingers already in his pocket. He kept his pen-sword there as if he knew that danger could await you all the time, even while training or being in a secure place. His instincts told him something was wrong, and the waiting drove him insane. Then the daughter of Mars suddenly got a grip of herself and turned around on her heel. Percy wondered how she managed that on the glittery and frozen floor without slipping.

"First legion, you come with me. We're taking care of this. Pay attention to the signs. If we call, the second legion comes to help. Now continue the march!" she shouted over the increasing noise of talking soldiers. To Percy's astonishment, they actually listened and just kept running while Percy, Reyna, Dakota, Hazel, Gwen and Bobby made their way over to the direction where the howl had come from. Normally, Percy felt like running away from a noise like that. But something in his mind stirred as he began to uncap Riptide in preparation for an attack.

That was when they saw the hellhounds. There were three of them and each one was just as big as one of Lupa's wolves. One of the two silver wolves was already wounded, whimpering and licking his hurt hind leg. Reyna shot Gwen a look who immediately understood and knelt to heal the wounded wolf. The other five demigods had dropped their backpacks and drawn their weapons to help the other wolf who was trying to keep the hellhounds away from the Castra. Why he knew they were hellhounds? Again, he just...knew it. The front and biggest one of them had an orange piece of fabric around his neck and Percy wondered what that was for. Unfortunately, he didn't really have the time to think about it any further because that was when the hellhounds attacked.

The green eyed demigod managed to hold out well, even though his teamwork with the others wasn't that excellent. Dakota seemed to throw something from behind, being able to distract and hurt the hellhounds. Hazel had grabbed one of her knives and began attacking, changing between throwing them and using them as a normal weapon for stabbing. Bobby showed some wicked swordwork, as did Reyna. They dodged and rolled, stabbed and finally, there was only one monster left, the one with the orange scarf around its neck that made him look like an oversized lapdog. Reyna ducked away when the hound leaped to bite her and he was on his way for Percy now instead. The demigod looked up, preparing to strike the monster down without any mercy. His green eyes glistered with anger but when he met the eyes of the monster, his muscled suddenly stiffened. This dog wasn't bad. He couldn't just attack it, this was…

His thought didn't even come to an end when the hellhound was already on his neck, trying to bite his head off. His two front palms resting on his shoulders, this bite would've been totally deadly if it wasn't for his invulnerable skin. The dog kept chewing on him like he was a kind of toy gum that was impossible to bite through when suddenly, he whimpered and disappeared into dust. Percy made a face, realizing that he was now full of stinking dog drool.

"Now what was that? You had the way free for an attack and decide to become dog breakfast?" Bobby was standing behind the former dog, had stabbed him with his golden sword. Dakota ran over and helped Percy up, looking rather worried than mistrustful. She gave him a paper tissue to wipe away the drool which he was really thankful for. Again, Hazel showed him a strange stare like she still couldn't quite figure out where to put him but was almost positive that he wasn't on their side. But he was… well, at least he hoped so.

"Look, the enemy left us some sort of warning…" Reyna's voice sounded wary so they all walked over to her, even the now healed wolves and Gwen. The daughter of Mars was holding the orange fabric and when Percy stepped closer, he suddenly stopped in his track, green eyes widening in shock. This was way too familiar… no, it couldn't be, right?

In the middle of the orange tissue was the picture of a black Pegasus.

* * *

_So...you get what Gaea is plannig? That dirty (haha) B** wants them to hate each other, let Percy doubt himself and she's pretty good at plotting. I wonder what'll come of this... Btw, secretly, Reyna enjoyed what she saw...XD No, kidding._

**Hope you liked it, tell me what you thoughts please! :) **


	30. The Weapon Airport

_September, 19th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hey there, guys and girls! :)_

_I'm so damn fast! X'D No, really, just wanted to finally deliver the Greek chapter! Get some insight on what Gaea is planning, it's still all mysterious though 's Piper once again, I enjoy writing how she's all clueless in some cases :D Celebrate Chapter 30 with me! And over 350 reviews, yay! :3 Thanks so much ^^  
_

_Btw, I'll say it again. I could already submit a FAQ lol_

_**1. Yes**, I will continue the story even after "the Son of Neptune" comes out!_

_**2. Yes**, I did try to finish the story until October but since it's not at all finished yet, that's completely impossible. Therefore, answer 1 occurs XD._

_**3. No**, the hellhound was not Mrs. O'Leary! ^^ No worries. Percy was just reminded of her there. :)_

_**4. PLEASE don't spoiler me** as soon as the book comes out! I'm from Germany, the book comes out in the US on the 4th and it takes a while 'till I might get it over here...so no spoilering please! D:  
_

___**Please enjoy the Chapter now!**_

* * *

**_Chapter XXVII_**

**Piper**

The ground was getting closer as they dropped from the sky.

Piper couldn't help but notice their bad luck, as they were falling _again_. This time, though, they were in a plane, practically sliding towards the front of the jet, which was only slightly better than falling while clinging on to the back of a giant metal dragon. Piper didn't even notice that she had been screaming until a few seconds had passed. She frantically grabbed her seatbelt and fastened it, along with everyone else...except Jason. He simply rose from his seat and somehow managed to get to the cockpit door, his face worried and clueless.

"Leo, you alright? What's going on? Can you pull us up?" Jason's question was answered by a shaky voice – which couldn't be good.

"I'm doing everything I can, but nothing's responding_ and_ we just lost the tip of one wing. Oh, come on!" He cursed in ancient Greek, hitting buttons on the control panel in the hope that something, _anything_, would respond. But despite the increasing chaos, a calm voice rang out from somewhere to Piper's right.

"We should land and search for the wing. Leo, switch to complete manual pilot and prepare for the landing. Bring us down as softly as you can manage. Jason, Thalia - you two control the winds to support us as best as you can to keep us balanced. Hurry!" Annabeth had to shout over the rapidly failing engines, yet her grey eyes were steeled in determination. Next to her, Grover was freaking out, starting to pick at the furniture. Thalia and Jason both shut their eyes, concentrating on the task at hand.

"Piper! Try reassuring the wind spirits." The daughter of Athena looked at her, impressively level-headed as they plummeted to their possible deaths.

"On it!" Piper replied. Not too long ago, the order would've sounded so strange, but after all that had happened...it was actually relatively normal. Overall, talking to _winds_ wasn't any weirder than talking to a cage. She turned her attention to the air outside the windows, spitting out words as fast as she could.

"Hey, wind spirits, please support us. We don't mean any harm, so please, would you help us land safely?" The daughter of Aphrodite could barely hear herself speak – how could the wind spirits?

Annabeth, however, still didn't panic, turning to the satyr beside her. "Grover, play your reed pipes to calm the spirits. And _not _Amy Winehouse!" Grover fumbled for his instrument, playing a calm melody that seemed to have a strange power to it, even calming Piper as she screamed at the winds.

The effect was instantaneous. The plane righted itself, causing everyone to stumble again, before descending slowly. Leo confirmed through the speakers that he was in control, still sounding unsteady but much more confident. The plane wasn't completely stable, but it wasn't free-falling anymore. Looking out of the window, Piper could see ground, although it was coming closer at a considerably fast rate...

The plane jerked to a halt, sending the passengers tumbling once more as the sound of crumpling metal echoed in their ears. All of them were in shock for a second, but then, the doors of the plane opened and a nervous voice came from the front.

" Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached solid ground…sort of. You may exit the plane." Piper wasn't sure what that 'sort of' was supposed to mean...until she reached the door. Annabeth had to keep Grover from falling, because he had just tried to walk out of the plane.

They had landed directly in a snow-covered tree.

"What have you done to the tree, you moron?" asked Grover, obviously shocked, and more concerned about the tree than about their plane. Piper could tell that the satyr was _really_ concerned about the environment.

"Calm down, goat boy. We have to get out of here, so move your furry ass." Thalia came from behind, smirking, obviously her normal self again. The daughter of Zeus pushed the satyr so he was forced to jump down to the ground, which was a good deal away. Fortunately, thanks to his goat legs, he landed without too many issues besides some unsteadiness. Grover yelled up to everyone still in the plane, saying he was fine, although his hooves were in pain.

They decided that jumping wasn't really the best idea.

Finally, it was decided that Jason would bring them down one by one, since Thalia admitted, though grudgingly, that she hadn't ever tried flying, and clearly now wasn't the greatest time to find out if she could. Being in such close proximity with Jason caused Piper to blush slightly as he flew her down to the ground, though it caused a lot of awkwardness between him and Leo. When they were all out of the plane, they could finally get a full view of the damage. It looked bad – its nose was stuck in a tree, the engine was busted, and a good part of one wing looked like it had been chopped off.

"This is going to take some time to fix… if I can at all. I don't know if we can make it to San Francisco with a wing this messed up." Leo had put his hand on the side of the plane again, as if listening to the machine.

" It looks like we're going to have to split up – it's not the best idea, but we don't have a choice. Leo, you stay here and fix the plane as best as you can. Grover, you stay with him and help get it out of the tree." Annabeth spoke up, taking control of the situation, pointing at the people she addressed before turning to face the remaining people. "The rest of us should go find the missing part of the wing." They all nodded in agreement...except for Jason.

"I think I should stay here to help, Annabeth. Leo and Grover will be busy with the plane – an extra pair of eyes as a lookout can't hurt. If something attacks us, I can make sure they're not taken by surprise." Annabeth had to agree with the logic of Jason's statement, so the son of Jupiter went to stand by Leo, who gave him a high five.

"Alright, boys, we'll let the girls handle the searching while we fix the plane." Oddly enough, they had accidentally split into groups based on gender. They waved their goodbyes and headed towards the buildings in the distance. They had crashed in a field; Piper guessed that the farmer who owned it wouldn't be too happy.

"So…where are we, anyway?" Piper finally asked, looking around.

"Springfield, Ohio." Annabeth pointed at the _Welcome to Springfield! _sign next to the road they had arrived at.

"But isn't there more than one Springfield in the US?"

"Yeah, but Ohio fits most logically with the distance we could have traveled in an hour." Annabeth sounded completely certain, and Piper was sure that she didn't want to hear the mechanics of how she came to the conclusion. Thalia stuffed her hands in her pockets, her blue eyes inspecting their surroundings. The street they were standing on seemed worn, but there wasn't a car in sight.

"So, how do we find the wing?" Thalia asked, and immediately, Annabeth rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. The daughter of Athena scribbled something down before showing it to the other demigods. It looked like something you'd find written on a physics class blackboard – which meant Piper had no chance of deciphering it.

"We flew at the speed of mach 0.8, at the least, and adding the gravity and calculating the route we took…" She continued explaining her convoluted picture, but Piper didn't even try to follow, until Annabeth pointed at an area of the paper with her pen.

"I can't give the exact location, because there are outside factors that I can't possibly know, but the piece we're looking for should be around there." She looked up from her drawing and pointed to the right, down the road. In that direction, there was a group of large buildings, and Piper's attention was drawn to the giant sign labeling them.

"Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. Well, at least we know where we are now...so let's go." The three of them headed towards the buildings, hoping to find the missing part of the wing. Piper couldn't help but feel assured that their mission would be successful; with Annabeth and Thalia's obviously close relationship and their talents, the daughter of Aphrodite couldn't think of a situation they wouldn't be able to escape, though she didn't really want to jinx it.

She was worried about running into monsters, though. During the few times that they had landed with Festus, they had always met some scary guys like those Cyclopes or Midas or Medea…she really didn't want to go through the same thing again, even if Thalia and Annabeth were with her. Gaea was obviously playing with them – not exactly a reassuring revelation.

Annabeth had figured that it would be best to find the reception area and ask if they had seen the piece of the wing, rather than risk getting arrested by security by sneaking around. They would say they had crashed in a field not too far away – there was no need to tell them that their pilot was a teenager. And if things got really bad, they'd have to rely on Piper's charmspeaking, which the daughter of Aphrodite wasn't too thrilled about. The three trudged along in mostly silence, all absorbed in their own thoughts, when a loud noise jolted them back to reality. They turned their attention to the building it had come from, which was one that you'd pass by if you didn't have a reason to go in.

Someone had cursed rather loudly, which was what had startled them, and Piper was about to keep moving forward until she noticed what the other girls already had. There was a faint but eerie...glow, seeping out of the building, and it certainly didn't feel natural. The three exchanged a look, before Thalia made the first move and crept up to the door, which was slightly open. Annabeth and Piper followed, pulling the door open a little farther so they could all peek in.

Piper nearly gasped at the sight, but stifled it before she could give away their hiding place. The giant hall was full of desks, with a forge farther in the back. Five men – _humans_ – were working at every desk, their hands covered in giant gloves, and they looked extremely tentative about what they were doing, like it would explode. And considering the center of each table was dominated by some kind of weapon, it was likely – not that something like it should have been found at a normal airport.

These weapons were _giant_ – the people handling them had to be at least thirty feet tall. And then there were a few men directly in front of their entrance, working on a block of black metal that continued to morph forms. A cold shudder went down her spine as the realization hit her.

These mortals were crafting weapons for godly purposes – which would be used to kill _them_.

* * *

_Dudun. Yes, I enjoy cliffies. Sorry about that. It might take a while for the new chapter, I don't know how soon I'll manage to submit it since my furniture is coming out this week and I'm taking my new apartment. Since it's new, it has no internet xD. So yeah, I don't know when I'll be able to upload. Just saying beforehand._

**Please tell me what you think! :)**


	31. Discovered

_September, 25th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Goldenstar13_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hey there, loyal readers! :)_

_I'm here to announce that another chapter is out...and it's Greek again XD I didn't await that you liked the Romans so much...is it because of Percy or what? O_o I always thought you wanted to read the Greek part, with Annabeth worried and them searching for Percy etc. Well, never mind. I'll just stick to what I originally planned and you'll have to bear with me ;P_

_If you do read on. Which I hope. What do you think? After TsoN comes out, should I rename my story into something different or rather keep it so it could be found as such?_

_Many questions, one more thing: I may upload slower, as you noticed, because my new apartment is awaiting me to fill it with my stuff. XD Soo, internet only gets there somewhere next week and I'm moving soon so I don't know about the updates...but I'll try ^^ And sorry the chapter is so short but it was the only way to make it a cliffhanger and you know me, I love making those XD  
_

___**For now, please enjoy the Chapter!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXXI**_

**Piper**

"They're crafting weapons…this can't be good." Annabeth murmured and looked over to the other two demigods, who just nodded. This discovery shocked all three of them. Even the two more experienced demigods hadn't been expecting something like this.

The next moment, a door inside of the building opened up. It was at the opposite side of the hall so the three girls were looking straight at it. And then a man walked in. He was so big that Piper would never believe he was human, even though he did have humanlike features that seemed to twist while the daughter of Aphrodite was looking at them. _Mist…_she thought. This was a monster. Man, she had the worst luck of all. The three demigods moved away from the door a little so the monster wouldn't notice them…or their smell. Piper had learned that demigods apparently smelled really strong to monsters. They had to be careful. Then the monster started to scream, his voice deep and cruel.

"What did you do! Did you ruin another piece? Our patron won't allow any more failures! We need to finish as many pieces as we can; she's not patient! You there, come with me." The monster pointed with sharp claws at the man that had dropped something, which apparently had caused the light and the noise they had heard. The man seemed afraid of the monster but nodded.

"Yes, chief. Coming." he muttered and put down his tools. The others around him looked at him worriedly and patted his shoulder. Some even seemed to mutter among themselves. This seemed to happen very often and Piper really didn't want to know what that giant man was up to and what would happen to this mortal.

"Shouldn't we contact the head of machinery about this? We're fixing plane parts here and he punishes us for every single mistake!" one of the men murmured. It was lucky for the demigods that their hiding place was so close to the entrance.

"Yes, but the problem is that the machinery head is one of them. I don't think they will listen to us." All of the mortals seemed afraid and threw the giant at the door nervous glances. As the man who did the mistake reached the giant, another big guy came through the door behind him. So he wasn't the only one? Oh great, more giant monsters.

"We secured the 'thing', Sir. As you predicted, it landed directly in the next hall." The second giant was smaller than the first one but still enormous. His voice was also a little higher, which made him appear pretty ridiculous. The first one seemed to be the boss and now pushed the little mortal forward through the door while he looked up to the other giant.

"Very good; make sure that it is guarded. The demigods will surely come and get it. That's when we'll get rid of them all." He grinned and then closed the door behind him, causing the other men to go back to their work.

Piper's eyes widened. She looked over to Thalia, who now moved away from the wall, her face a little paler than normal. She carefully closed the door and leaned against the metal, her gaze seemed to be lost in the distance.

"They waited for us…this can't be good. But we need it back somehow." She paused, seemingly thinking. Then she looked up at Annabeth, her glance meaningful. "Would you—"

"On my way." The daughter of Athena smiled, pulling out a cap from her jeans. Piper wondered how the hell it fit in there. It had the symbol of the New York Yankees on the front and was dark blue. What did she need that for now?

"You two check the security system; I'll find the wing. Try not to get their attention. I'm guessing we would have a major problem then." Piper wanted to ask what she wanted to do with that cap. But the next moment, she put it on and suddenly just vanished. She was gone. Completely. Piper blinked several times and rubbed her eyes, checking for Annabeth again, but she was still. Then the door next to them opened on its own and closed itself again. Piper couldn't help but watch, completely gob-smacked.

"What the—"

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. This cap was a gift from her mother. Come on, we need to find the hall they mentioned." She pulled Piper away from the entrance and dragged her around the corner. Apparently, the hunter knew that Annabeth could get…well, invisible and counted on her to spy on the giants. But what was about the smell? Wouldn't that give her away if the giants were on guard? No, that couldn't be…Thalia had a plan. She should just trust the daughter of Zeus, right?

The other hall this giant had been talking about was easily spotted as soon as they passed two corners while pressing themselves against the metal wall. The daughter of Aphrodite noticed that the airport seemed deserted. Even though there were runways everywhere, no plane was in sight. Not even cars were around. It was like a ghost airport…except for the hall full of monster weapons.

"Why isn't anyone landing here?" she finally asked, whispering to Thalia. Why she was whispering?…She wasn't quite sure. It was just this tense atmosphere around here that had suddenly appeared as soon as they had discovered the monsters. Piper hadn't noticed this before but now the airport seemed like it was evil itself.

"It's probably the mist. They don't want their weapon crafting to be disturbed, so they form the mist so that no mortal would land at this airport. And since it's not really the biggest, it seems to work out just fine. And even if a plane would make its way down here, I'm not sure if the mortals would survive for long. Those are Lastrygonian giants. They're cannibals and wouldn't mind some more humans to feast upon." Thalia answered, also whispering but with a bitter tone in her voice. Now Piper felt like she was about to vomit.

They now reached the next building without being spotted, but Piper saw something on the door that made her hopes drop. It was a metal box and a red alarm lamp above the door. The sign of a lightning bolt was on the box on the left side of the door. On the right side, there was a keypad that showed numbers from 0-9. You had to enter a code to open the door; otherwise you'd be electrocuted and be spotted immediately -if you weren't dead by then.

"Oh no, an alarm system. And a pretty good one from what I know." Piper sighed and rubbed her forehead in frustration.

Despite all her worries, Thalia eyed the small box on the left side of the door. It looked like it would give you a pretty harsh shock of electricity if you touched it or the door without entering the code. It would probably knock you out for a few minutes or even longer. Piper cursed silently now, but to her surprise, the daughter of Zeus just grinned.

"I bet this is run by juice. No problem." She raised her hand, pulled back her sleeve a bit and reached forward. Piper wanted to stop her, warn her that they would be spotted but before she could, Thalia had touched the box. The daughter of Aphrodite practically saw the electricity hitting her body, wandering through it. Nonetheless, it left no damage at all. Thalia didn't even flinch. She just smiled, her electric blue eyes sparkling. In return, shot a good portion of electricity back into the system, before it could even activate the alarm. This was followed by a load hum and finally, the installation fell completely silent. Piper raised her eyebrows and tried to push the door. It opened just fine.

"Wow…that was cool." she had to admit, looking up into those blue eyes again, the left of which winked at her.

"Yeah, I know…but thanks. Ladies first." She made an exaggerated motion towards Piper, who just glared at her, offended.

"Hey, just because Aphrodite is my mother, I'm not automatically a lady." But she still had to smile, which Thalia returned. Yes, the daughter of Zeus definitely liked that Aphrodite sprout.

The two of them entered the building silently, closing the door behind them. It made no noise at all, fortunately. Piper had to exhale vociferously, not even noticing that she had held her breath until now. Wow, they actually made it into the building without being spotted. It really had its advantages to travel with experienced demigods. The room they now were in what looked like some kind of storage room for old items that were used before the airport was turned into a monster-controlled building. Pieces of planes lay around and Piper wondered if they could use some of this stuff to fix their jet. The two girls walked through the room, looking around cautiously. But it seemed empty. Piper wanted to ask Thalia where they had to go next, when suddenly, a shadow emerged over them. Piper didn't even have time to react before there was already someone between them and the door. Thalia had already a spear and shield in her hand, twisting into a battle stance. The teenager had no idea how the daughter of Zeus could manage to draw her weapon so fast, but it probably saved her life because she blocked the giant – which was what had dropped in front of them- from attacking them by showing it the shield.

It was terrifying. On the front, there was the head of a woman with snakes as hair. Medusa, Piper guessed. It looked so gross that Piper didn't even want to step closer to her comrade. She just drew Katoptris and also took a position to attack, trying to look courageous. The giant in front of them stared at the shield, startled for a moment, but then it began grinning. Obviously, he had just dropped from the ceiling, even if that was technically impossible. Then he suddenly spoke and his deep, imperious voice was joyful, as if he just found his favorite food that he had not had for a long time.

"Well, well,look what I found! Two other demigod girls. This has to be my lucky day..."

* * *

_Dudun. Did they find Annabeth? How? What happened? Well...you'll see next chapter! This story is becoming too long...but I don't quite care. It's so different from what TSoN is going to be that I can just keep on going without thinking that I copied anything. That's good for me, don't know how that works for you. You could see it as a different story that starts after TLH XD_

**Anyway! Thanks for sticking with me this far, I'm really glad you do and please tell me what you think, it keeps me going every single time even if I may not respond! *hugs***


	32. Stubborn Child of the Sea

_September, 29th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello there, loyal readers! :)_

_OMG it's another chapter. And it's Roman! O_o Can you believe it? XD I still quite can't because I'm in my new apartment right now and it's sooo cooooool :3 I'm dying with excitement, kinda. _

_Other than that I have less stress now -hopefully- and will probably be able to upload more chapters even though I'm making no promises. Hope you're satisfied because this chapter is mainly consisting Reyna's way of thinking about Percy and everything else. She's an important part of my story so please bear with it. Much talking and little action but trust me, as a whole, it's better this way XD.  
_

___**Now please enjoy the Chapter!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXXII**_

**Reyna**

The daughter of Mars couldn't quite place it, but she somehow sensed that something was very wrong here. The gaze of her brown eyes rested on the tissue in her hands and her lids were converted to slits, staring at the Pegasus in the middle as if it wanted it to jump out of the orange background and reveal what it stood for, what force was working against them here. And most importantly: What did it have to do with Percy?

Not that she suspected him immediately or something. Why should she? After all, he did help them at the beach, in the forest, last night, he didn't tattle to Lupa, he was relatively reliable, _and_ he was strong. But why… just why did he hesitate to kill that last hellhound? The look in his eyes had been unreadable, but also one of recognition. And it was impossible that he actually _knew_ a hellhound, right? They were impossible to tame, and everyone knew that. Then there was his reaction to the tissue. Those seagreen eyes stared at the fabric like it rose up from hell, and he murmured something.

"This can't be…" his mouth whispered without him noticing. The jet-black, unruly hair fell into his face even more because of the fight, and the more Reyna looked at it, the more this grey streak seemed to catch her attention. Another thing that was different with this boy. But she shook the thought to get a question out of her mouth.

"What _'can't be'_?" Reyna asked, her eyebrows raised and her gaze extremely imperious, even more than normal. Immediately, the son of Neptune seemed to snap out of it and looked up at Reyna's face, noticed her stare and his face flew from one to another, noticing that all members of the first legion plus the wolves were staring at him, wondering what that statement was supposed to mean. He had disturbed a dreadful silence and everybody heard him. But he just started to look nervous and waved his hands in front of his body, turning slightly red on the cheeks.

"Wh-what, nothing! I was just wondering… didn't you say that your boarders were impossible to cross? I mean, I experienced this myself, the mist is so thick… how could just three simple hellhounds make it through?" the brunette had to blink. _Wow, he...actually has a point there._ But Reyna got the feeling that he was lying, and she was quite good at recognizing that. Her gaze flew over to Hazel, who met her brown eyes with her own stormy grey ones, nodding slowly in a silent agreement. Something was fishy here, and they were going to find out what. But for now, the boarder problem was first. Dakota nodded, seemingly worried. She herself didn't take much action in the fight so her makeup was flawless as always and her blonde hair created waves over her shoulders in the new hair style she had tried out for today.

"Percy's right. How did they get in here? I think we should tell Lupa about this." The blonde fingered her curls and stood next to Percy, watching his expression as it turned to something more serious and he nodded.

"Yeah, we probably should. She won't be able to ignore us anymore. We can convince her to tell us the truth now." His green eyes showed determination, and his hands were clenched into fists. Reyna had to admit, his words were tempting. On the other hand, she wasn't going to let him have any power over her. So she just smirked and lifted her own fist, her eyes closed in anger.

"Percy Jackson… who told you that you had the right to tell _any_ of us what to do… ?" she asked, her voice falsely calm. The black haired demigod first was shocked, then he sighed and crossed his arms in protest.

"Nobody, Reyna. That was simply a suggestion." He concluded and obviously looked somehow pissed. The daughter of Mars heard the stubbornness, but she ignored it, at least he listened and let her have command. As long as he didn't try something funny, that was okay with her. Nobody would earn a position above her if he didn't have her absolute trust. And at the moment, she wasn't ready to give the position of first commander to any other than Jason. He was just… perfect for it, and she couldn't bring herself to replace him in any way. Not even as a consul to demigods. Yeah, they needed one, but somehow Reyna still had the illusion to handle this all on her own. She was daughter of Mars, she was strong and she could definitely handle what Jason could handle… right? After all, Mars was only second to Jupiter.

In contrary to that, Reyna herself felt how Percy processed the power to impress people. His voice was steady and full of hope, emitting something she hadn't even felt with Jason. His aura wasn't like a Venus child's and still, it had something taking, something you wanted to flow with and his eyes… they were stunning, really. While Jason's had been electric blue, rather controlling you by fear of his famous electric shocks, Percy was the type that had calm eyes, green as the sea and they sparked with an energy that was unknown to the female soldier. They also told you of his unruly nature that was so similar to the sea itself. Of course, if you knew Jason, you also knew that he was a kind person by heart, but he didn't show it until you were very private. All soldiers, despite those of the first legion, just knew him as the unkind, stiff, and powerful son of Jupiter who was in command. And if you didn't obey, yeah, then you could prepare for a little electroshock, or maybe sometimes a not so little one, considering in which mood he was.

Somehow, Percy didn't give Reyna a feeling of discipline like that, it was just… you wanted to follow because he was the kind of person you could trust to do the job. Still, Reyna didn't know if she liked it. That power of Dakota already scared her if she was honest, but with Percy, it was even more subconscious. She didn't want to fall for it because she still didn't trust him fully. This reaction right here just made it worse, and she knew that Hazel and Bobby thought the same way. Then again, what made her so nervous about Percy? He was just a new soldier, right? But his amnesia seemed to be strange, the whole thing about his sword having a Greek name and him acting so strange in some situations… she really had to find out more about this guy. But for now, she nodded and smiled slightly, seemingly satisfied.

"Good. We're going to take your suggestion with a slight change: You, Gwen and Dakota will continue the morning activities. Don't you get sensitive, that'll ruin Jason s and my hard work on the discipline. Hazel, Bobby, and I will go see Lupa and tell her about everything." Hazel and Bobby nodded, and even if Gwen and Dakota didn't seem thrilled, they agreed to her order and nodded as well. The only one who protested was Percy- Oh surprise.

"Hey! But I wanna go with you to Lupa, I have plenty of questions to ask her. Can't you continue the march yourself, you're in charge, right?" he still had his arms crossed and suddenly, his green eyes gained a different look, one that showed exactly how stubborn he was, refusing to take orders from anyone. That was a thing Reyna simply hated when it came to orders she gave… nothing personal, but Lupa had raised them all that way. It was interesting how he did that to Lupa, yes. But with her orders, there was nothing funny about it. Gwen, who was standing next to one of the wolves slowly shook her head as if wanting to warn Percy but it was already too late: Reyna was furious. Very.

"_What?_ Did you just contradict me?" her expression absolutely screamed her anger, and she stepped forward, putting the orange furniture into her jeans pocket. She got so close to Percy that their faces were only inches apart, but it was the exact opposite of a romantic feeling.

"Because if you did, I will show you exactly how it's done here with guys that won't follow the rules. Lupa may be merciful with you for some unknown reason, but you better trust me…" her index finger now poked his chest even though she could tell he was not enjoying it. Good.

"I will not be that merciful if you keep up being this way, and try to lull me in with your strangely charming charisma! _Understood_?" the last word was screamed right in his face and she had to hold it together to not draw her Pugio and stab it right into his chest. Not that that'd help anyway. Still, Percy looked relatively unimpressed, being taller than her and his green eyes showed how pissed he was at this whole behavior around here. So he really dared to open his mouth again, seemingly a little confused.

"What? _'Charming charisma'_? But I didn't even-"

"YOU GO UP THERE RIGHT NOW AND LEAD THE FUCKING MARCH, KELP FACE! BE GLAD I ENTRUST YOU WITH SOMETHING _AT ALL_!" she pointed towards the hills and the woods where the other soldiers were still jogging and her face was becoming redder with rage by the second. She swore that if he dared to open his damn mouth with his brain full of kelp and lack of discipline one more time, she was going to pick a fight with him again. And this time, she would not back down from fascination but kick his butt until he begged for mercy. Because right now, his stamina wasn't as good as hers, and she wasn't going to fall for this invincible trick again. He had to tire at some time, even if she had to duel him until he fell asleep at the spot. That'd be worth it. Finally, Dakota grabbed his arm and smiled at him, trying to calm his mood while the green eyes of his showed how he disliked to be ordered around like this, and his hands rubbed his ears in discomfort because Reyna's scream had been… well, really… audible.

"Come one, Percy. Let's just do what she says before this gets ugly, mh? I tell you, you don't want to meet Lupa in the morning anyway, it's a living nightmare." She dragged him away, while the two wolves howled slightly in agreement to Dakota's words before Gwen followed Percy and Dakota, and Reyna seemed to calm down a little. Still, she looked after him with pretty angry eyes, trying to make holes in his back when he walked away.

"I can't believe this guy." Hazel commented, arms still crossed and her grey eyes helped Reyna with the death stare toward the black haired boy. Reyna knew that her head was already trying to figure out what exactly it was that made Percy act so strange. The daughter of Minerva had been scrolling through books almost all night, and even if there were small shadows under her eyes, she didn't seem to bother. Finally, Reyna just sighed and turned around on her heel, looking in the direction of the woods in the north while Percy ran to the east.

"Okay, we all don't like him, but right now, how about we wake Lupa?" her face was unreadable. But if she was honest, she wasn't really thrilled about having to go there. In the morning, Lupa was worse than normal, if that was even possible. She was living in a cave out in the woods, not far away from the meadow. The woods around the Castra would not automatically fool you after a few feet. The radius of about 200 feet was safe for everyone to walk through. But it was risky. Sometimes, the forest developed its own will and you could be lost after a few feet already anyway. On the other hand, there were good days where you were able to go even farther. Lupa sometimes called the forest unpredictable as the sea , and that there was no wall in the world that could protect them better than this system of the mist. If this was the case, then how? How could those hellhounds sneak in, and how was that earth woman able to form that close to the Castra Roma?

While walking, all three of them were quiet. Both of her friends kept close to her and more than ever, Reyna wished that Jason was here. He would know what to do now, he could find the words to say to Lupa, and he would also know how to handle Percy. His aura was far different from Percy's. Jason Grace was just the perfect leader. Nobody in this Castra would dare to disobey him, not even Reyna herself. On the other hand, the daughter of Mars wasn't sure if that would threaten Percy. The son of Neptune seemed so stubborn that she could even see him picking a fight with Jason. And she wasn't even sure if he would look that bad in this fight. It kind of reminded her of their fathers. Jupiter and Neptune, constantly accusing each other and having arguments over every little detail. But she put that wild thought away for the moment, because they had finally reached Lupa's cave.

It was a giant hole in a mountainside that didn't quite fit in with the flat landscape. It looked as if it was hewn out of the earth. Normally, Lupa lived in that ruined house uphill. Sometimes though, she stayed close to the Castra to look after things or sometimes she was just tired of staying at the same place. Reyna didn't really know her real reasons. The three demigods, followed by the two wolves, took a deep breath before finally entering the cave. Inside, it was like paradise. Well, for wolves at least. The walls were cobbled with moss and even the ground was densely overgrown with green grass. Right now, the room was rather dark, but Reyna knew that when the day started for Lupa, the cave was brightly lit by fireflies that were living here in high numbers. They could hear water rush through the cave, and all three of them stepped over the little creek that poured through the room. At the end of the big hall there was a big pedestal where the goddess was placed, her head resting on her palms. This was a really rare sight, even for the three demigods who stayed in the Castra for a few years now. As they approached the goddess, her silver glowing eyes suddenly opened, lighting up the cave a little bit and blinding the three. Reyna was taken aback, puzzled.

"Madame Lupa, you're already awake?" she said, then quickly caught herself and cleared her throat, her muscles stiffening and her tongue changing. "_I apologize for the disturbance, Madame __Lupa__. But we have a minor problem. Our __Castra__ was attacked by three hellhounds, and we were wondering what you are saying to this. Here, they left this piece of furniture around one of the hell hounds necks."_ Reyna bowed and stepped closer carefully, placing the orange tissue in front of the she-wolf. The wolf stayed silent a few seconds while her three students were kneeling on the floor before her, waiting for an answer. Finally, she sighed and stood up, stretching her muscles.

"Yes, I was in thought for quite some time." She paused, looking at the tissue again and her expression was unreadable, even for Reyna, who knew her quite well already. In the end, she just sat back down and looked at all of them quietly before continuing.

"And yes, I noticed them intruding and am thankful that you took care of it. This is a matter we have no power to influence, not even I. I'm afraid we need to wait with our actions. The best preparation for now is to train as well as we can and double our defenses. Tell the other soldiers to ready themselves." She paused again, then looked at Reyna directly, her head tilted.

"But if you're here… then who's leading the march?" she asked, observant as always. The brunette winced slightly and sighed. Great. Alright, she should say it. Lupa would find out either way.

"_Percy Jackson, 'Mam. Dakota and Gwendolyn are with him though."_ She added, just to be safe. Somehow, she really wondered how that kelp face was doing _-stop, no! You hate him, remember? _She quickly shook her head to listen to Lupa's reaction. But the she-wolf only smiled, which was the last thing she would have excepted.

"Yes, that's good. Maybe a little responsibility will do a number on him." That was it. No farther reaction came to this and when Reyna looked beside her she noticed that her two friends were just as irritated. So she decided to ask, even if it was risky.

"_Madame __Lupa__, may I ask how you came to… well, trust him? __Because we don't quite do.__ He's rebellious, undisciplined, big mouthed, mysterious…" _she didn't find any more bad words that would fit Percy, so she just stopped and waited for Lupa to answer her question, her head lowered to show her respect. Finally, the goddess stood up and walked past them while talking. She stopped at the creek in the ground, looking down at it as if she was deep in thought.

"Do you see this creek, Reyna? It will go through every stone to someday finally reach the sea. Even if it takes years to reach that goal, nothing will back him down. I'm sure you heard of Percy's father, Neptune. He is Jupiter's big brother and his personality is as unpredictable as the sea, always changing and always being stubborn until he gets what he wants. Percy is a lot like his father to be honest, even his appearance is similar. With the things I taught you, you three might see those traits as something bad. Trust me, I will show him how to behave, but I and you as well will never manage to completely manipulate him. That's something we have to respect. Children of the Sea are just like that. It's rare to have them here, but if we do, we must see the difference. I often tried to make them listen, to obey me, but it never fully worked, not a single time in the 3000 years I taught. Plus, he's strong, so we'll need him when the things that are coming up finally reach us. You may not trust him now, but some day, even if it despises all I worked for, you will." Somehow, Lupa looked sad when she said this last sentence. Alright, Reyna understood the whole thing about the creek and that Percy was stubborn -which she obviously already noticed before- but this last sentence disturbed the daughter of Mars a bit. No, pretty much. Since when was Lupa giving up on teaching discipline?

"W-what do you mean, I don't understand." She finally stated and blinked at the goddess in confusion. She didn't even notice that she forgot to address the goddess in Latin. Hazel also nodded in confusion but her grey eyes showed that she was already analyzing something again, something Reyna probably didn't find out yet. The she-wolf just shook her head and suddenly, all the kindness was gone. Just now, when she had looked at the creek, she had appeared so peaceful, and it was so unfamiliar about her. Returning to her regular self, the she-wolf turned around and glared at Reyna.

"You don't have to, this is none of your business anyway. Now go back to the Castra and continue the morning activities. I'll see you at breakfast." And with those words, she turned around and vanished into the woods without a trace. The three demigods stared after her, slowly standing up from their kneeling position. Hazel walked closer to Reyna and wanted to open her mouth when suddenly, someone ran into the cave with amazing speed, panting heavily. It was Dakota, her blonde hair flying behind her and her expression was panicked. Reyna asked herself what brought her here. Dakota was eerily afraid of dark places like this cave was, but she didn't seem to bother, running over to them until she finally reached them. It took her a few seconds to catch her breath but as soon as she managed, the daughter of Venus looked up and gazed at Reyna.

The brunette didn't notice before but now that Dakota looked her in the eye it was clear: The blonde was close to crying. Finally, she managed to speak:

"Reyna, quick! You have to come, Percy's in big trouble!"

* * *

_Yeah, he is. What happened? You get a cookie if you're guessing right XD Other than that, yeah, Lupa gets sentimental. Sometimes she's allowed to do so. For a short moment._

**Hope you enjoyed, please tell me what you think! :)**


	33. The trapped Girl

_October, 3rd 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Goldenstar13_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello there, loyal readers! :)_

_Lol, I was so delighted when I saw the many reviews! Over 20 in one night! Guys, you broke your own record, we're not officially over 400! :3 I can't believe it, **thank you all soooo much!** *hugs you to death*  
_

_Plus, OMG, One day! Tomorrow the real thing comes out! Aaaaaah. And tomorrow university starts! Gods, I'm dying right here. You guys probably already preordered the book and will have it tomorrow. But for me, it wasn't really possible to preorder it because I was moving and now I'll probably get it a LOT later (Germany etc.)! Therefore: _

_**NO SPOILERS! SERIOUSLY.**_

_ I want to read it myself and I'm so damn curious that spoilering me would just ruin my whole mood, not only for the book but also for this story. And don't worry. I'll keep on. But just if you keep your mouth shut about what really happens! :o _

_Well, that aside. Here is another chapter for you! And yes, it's Greek. But I'm not going to change my order of chapters just because you want the Romans. Though I still find that surprising xD. The chapter is also really early because I have to go to bed already, you know, the university thing etc. But maybe the action in it will lighten your mood a bit. Have fun reading Riordan's version! And please also have fun reading mine! XD  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

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**Chapter XXXIII**

**Thalia**

This was becoming a really bad situation…the daughter of Zeus couldn't decide what was worse: The Lastrygonian giant standing before them or the fact that he had just said "another two", which indicated that they had already caught Annabeth.

"What have you done to her, you monster?" the black haired girl hissed through her glittered teeth. Her spear was raised so it would threaten the monster and he could see the now visible sparks of electricity at the edge. The thought of Annabeth being captured…no, she really didn't want this scenario to happen again. But how did they find her, anyway? Just by scent? Thalia didn't remember their noses being that good. Normally, those giants were a piece of cake to trick, especially the dumb ones. Piper seemed a little shaky although she held her knife firmly. Even though Thalia knew that the daughter of Aphrodite was able to defend herself, she felt like a bigger sister or something, responsible for Annabeth as well as Piper. The ugly face in front of them now just laughed at her question and kept shooting Aegis disoriented glances before answering.

"A miracle; you of all people are coming to get her. She's in the cage of course. In the last days—" he interrupted himself, his eyes growing wide and he started to drop over, coughing up blood while falling. The blue eyed hunter reacted fast and pulled Piper to the side. The monster dropped right where they had just stood. In his back, there was a knife as well as the girl who slowly started to turn visible again as she walked towards them. Annabeth had returned and stabbed the giant from behind, killing him.

"Nice one." Thalia grinned approvingly at the blonde who now pulled her knife out while the monster turned into dust. The daughter of Athena raised her eyebrows and looked at her best friend.

"Why didn't you pulverize him?" she asked, obviously confused. Of course. Normally, Thalia didn't have any problems with giants, even of higher caliber. She remembered wanting to kill Prometheus back when he offered to "help" them. Yeah, back in the good old days, with her as the head hunter and Percy as the head of camp…she had to sigh, thinking that the green eyed idiot now probably didn't even remember her or their adventures.

"He said something about a girl they captured and I thought they meant you." The daughter of Zeus shrugged and looked around, searching for another monster that might be hiding. Another surprise like that wouldn't be much appreciated. Piper on the other hand seemed even more confused now.

"But if that wasn't you and you're here now…who was ugly face talking about?" she lowered her dagger and raised an eyebrow at Annabeth. The blonde sighed knowingly and pointed at the door. Or something beyond it.

"They're keeping a Roman female demigod in there. At least that's what it looks like. She's wearing a purple shirt. The room is heavily guarded. They just didn't notice me because I probably have a similar scent. Another piece of bad news is that our part of the wing is also in that room and it's really stuffed with giants…" she looked really worried, already pursing her lips as if thinking of a solution.

"We're saving her, right?" Piper asked. She sounded hopeful as if it was her duty to do so and she hoped the others agreed. Thalia had to roll her eyes at the thought that they now had another one of those loyal ones in the group that didn't think about the priorities. Well alright, sometimes that was right but most of the time, it just got you in more trouble than you already had. And, as a demigod, that was more than enough already. It had always been the same with kelp head, trying to be the hero and save every soul alive. Finally, she sighed and decided to play the bad cop.

"We'll see about that. The wing comes first. If we don't have the time for her, we'll just get the wing and escape." Thalia said. It was risky…they could hardly take care of themselves with this many giants; it would be difficult to take care of another demigod and they didn't know if she was wounded or not. Eventually, she would just be a hindrance. Piper on the other hand didn't seem pleased with this answer, as expected. She opened her mouth in protest, her changing eyes sparked with frustration, and the brown, uneven hair seemed to rise on its own. Thalia didn't know how she did that, but she sure hoped that the girl wasn't trying to charmspeak her. That'd make her an enemy for sure; she hated people who tried to manipulate any of her decisions! But fortunately, Piper didn't even try that, pulling out reasoning first.

"But we have to! She's like us—no, she's like Jason! Maybe she even _knows_ him! They'll kill her eventually, and that'll be an asset lost to us!" Piper said, gesturing wildly. The brunette tried to hold back the power in her voice to the best of her ability. It got more powerful if she got mad and she had to be more cautious in those situations. But she wasn't positive if charmspeak would even work on Annabeth or Thalia…Annabeth was extremely clever and Thalia was a far more powerful demigod than Piper.

The hunter now thought about it, her blue eyes staring into space. She sure did want her brother to get his memory back…this girl might actually help them. But there was still the problem of all those giants… Thalia looked at Annabeth as if asking for her opinion of this. She was the strategist here; what did she have to say?

"Well...while we're at it…why not." the blonde grinned and this was what gave Thalia the feeling she had been waiting for. This tingling of excitement and electricity in her hands came when they were about to beat some monsters so hard they cried for their mommy. She loved this feeling and these giants were nothing she hadn't seen before. In fact, they were perfect for her to get a warm up on this quest.

"Alright, let's kick some monster ass." the daughter of Zeus concluded, loading her spear with extra electricity. Then she glanced at Annabeth, who already thought of a plan. Her fingers were up to her necklace, fingering the beads and staring into space. Finally, after only a few seconds, she was finished thinking and looked at them with those intelligent grey eyes.

"While Thalia and I get in and catch their attention, you crawl up to the cage and try to open it. Use my cap to get past them." The daughter of Athena handed Piper her cap, who seemed slightly confused again.

"Why me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you want to free her, right? Plus, Annabeth and I fought so many giants in the last war, I'm sure we'll be completely fine." Thalia winked at the daughter of Aphrodite before Annabeth continued. Piper didn't argue any more, obviously content with the fact that she didn't have to fight more of those giant ugly thugs.

"It's most likely that they will begin to reform quickly." They all glanced over to the giant they had just finished and saw with horror, that he was reforming again, his feet first and going up to his thighs already. "We have to make it quick. When we've distracted enough and defeated enough, we'll get the wing and try to get out of here. They'll probably follow us so we better be prepared for that and run as fast as we can back to the others; the air is our only safe escape route." Thalia agreed to this comment with a smile and then looked in the direction of the door. Both of her friends nodded and changed into action mode. Annabeth positioned her knife and Piper put on the cap, vanishing into midair.

They stormed into the next room –which was empty. It was some kind of hallway which led to a giant door in the end. That one probably led back to the hall the mortals worked in. Annabeth pointed in the other direction and the others followed her as quietly as they could. Having surprise on their side would be helpful in this situation. After wondering why the heck the folding doors at the end of the hallway weren't guarded, Thalia decided to bust in and find out why. Yes, it could be a trap but that's what they were prepared for, right? And Annabeth had already scouted it out so they should be just fine.

With a gigantic BANG the huntress kicked in the metal door—luckily, it wasn't locked—and grinned at the stunned faces of a few giants that had been standing right behind the door, probably waiting for them to sneak in so they could hit them in the head. Well, that didn't quite work out.

Two of them flew forward and Thalia and Annabeth immediately went in fighting, knocking out and stabbing the monsters while they were still surprised. Piper was cleverly using the situation to get past the guards to the cage. Okay, she bumped into several giants by accident and confused them but Thalia and Annabeth only used that to their advantage.

Things went well for several minutes. But the gigantic hall full of these ugly monsters who were starting to reform faster and faster began to tire the huntress; she noticed that Annabeth also was getting tired. She even received several bruises and burns because the giants had actually an inventory of many weapons they were able to use. Alright, they weren't the best at handling a sword, for example, but it was more difficult to kill them if two of them were stabbing at you with weapons and you were surrounded by five.

The issue was that Piper couldn't open the cage. Thalia heard shouts and saw that there was an electricity system around it. Every time Piper touched the cage with her hands, she got electrocuted. And if she tried to open it with her dagger, it just wouldn't budge. The girl inside the cage –which was standing in the middle of the room on a pedestal–had noticed that Piper was there. Even if she couldn't see her, she tried to help her open the cage from the inside.

Finally, the hunter had enough. She extended her arms, shooting the giants around her with lightning from her body, using her special powers for the first time in this room. Then she summoned her bow and arrow out of nothing, swirling around in the air.

"Piper, step aside!" she yelled, pointing her bow at the lock of the cage. Piper seemed to react as Thalia finally shot, hitting the target perfectly. Adding electricity to her arrow –a trick Artemis had showed her- broke the security system. The lock clicked open.

"They have a daughter of Zeus! Nobody told us they had a daughter of Zeus!" one of the monsters yelled before Annabeth stabbed him, leaving Thalia with a grin on her face.

Unfortunately, there was no time for them to celebrate. The monsters had noticed that there were actually three of them and they were trying to free their prisoner. So now, many giants tried to reach the cage and stop Piper from freeing the girl. First, the daughter of Aphrodite handled it with her invisibility, stabbing them from behind or pushing them off the platform. But there were just too many. Even Thalia was still overwhelmed by the sheer number and couldn't reach the cage without being hurt. And she even saw how the boss approached the metal construction, leaving Piper with the only option she got now: Charmspeaking.

"Hello there, er, giants." she paused and Thalia noticed how she tried to put more power in her voice. "You don't want to come closer, sweet little giants. It's dangerous here. The girl did nothing wrong, you like her. Now step away and hold still, we really don't want to hurt you. Our daughter of Zeus is powerful, we have other powerful demigods with us and you don't want us getting really serious. Step away slowly and nothing will harm you, absolutely nothing…" she kept babbling on and the huntress noticed how the giants really seemed to believe her. Even the daughter of Zeus began to think that she was right but she quickly got over it. Since the other giants in the room were also paralyzed by Piper's speech, Thalia nodded at Annabeth who understood now and ran for the wing. They got it without a problem because obviously, all the giants were trying to figure out where the heck this beautiful voice was coming from. But they couldn't see anything and that was what left them just staring in the air, looking even dumber than before. Thalia gestured to where she assumed Piper to just keep talking while they approached the cage.

"Very good, Piper. Keep it up." she whispered, preparing her spear for the moment the monsters would awake from their trance. Unfortunately, that moment came faster than they had assumed. The boss, the biggest one, the one they had seen before, awoke with a start and started yelling.

"She's fooling us! Don't listen to her, men! Attack! Our patron wants them dead!" he lifted his arm and kept yelling. His comrades began awakening one after the other and Piper cursed in ancient Greek. Damn, she was doing so good and now they just snapped out of it?

The monsters were stepping closer and closer to the cage, coming from the sides, the front and from behind. This looked bad…really bad. The unknown girl now stood beside Annabeth and stared at the giants in horror. There were just too many, reforming too quickly…They were going to die…they were all going to-

No. No way she was giving up here! The huntress steadied her stance and took a deep breath. She motioned for the others to step away from her and focused hard. As the monsters reached for her, the daughter of Zeus suddenly raised her spear.

"FOR ZEUS!" she yelled out loud. It was rare that she wanted any help from her godly parent but this time, she was desperate. This wouldn't end like last time…she would never let that happen! A roll of thunder was heard and out of nowhere, the building was struck with lightning.

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, I like saying that. Btw. The result of your happy guessing will be out next chapter! Look forward to it! ;P The prize of a cookie is still open...Just saying XD_

**Hope you enjoyed it! And remember, NO SPOILERS! Good night :)**


	34. Falling off a Cliff

_October, 7th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello there, guys and girls! :)_

_I'm back again! My first week at university was great (the 3rd (Monday) was free because in Germany we celebrate our national unity there) and I now really can't wait to read TSoN. It's still not out here though. I should have just bought it at Amazon. Well, too late. Now I'll wait. And you keep your promise to not spoiler me ;P I do trust you with that. I already got spoilered on deviantart though, unfortunately. So I now know who Reyna's, Hazel's and Dakota's real parents are. But oh well, who cares. I just like my version and I put so much work into this story, no matter what the real book will be like, this will be so much different that I guess it's okay with me XDDD_

_Btw, just because you don't spoiler me doesn't mean you have to tell me that you got the book like a billion times. I'm getting jealous! XD _

_This is a short but in my opinion cool chapter. And it's from Percy's POV again. So please lay back and take it in as good as you can, this is an important scene. _

_About the cookie contest...No, it's not Rachel's pic. But I'm impressed how creative some of you are about it :3 It's really cool what you thought of, I'll buy a cookie for all of you now! :D  
_

___**Anyway! Now please enjoy!**_

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_**Chapter XXXIV**_

**Percy**

Oh man, this day was becoming even creepier than the last one. How was this even possible? After all, yesterday was practically the most psycho day in his entire life as far as he could tell.

The teenager stood at a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was the same cliff that the first legion always used for its meetings, and in fact, Dakota and Gwendolyn were behind him. They were both quiet as Percy stared at the horizon.

"They should be here soon." Gwen suddenly broke the silence, looking in the direction of the woods where they awaited Bob, Hazel and Reyna to appear. It had been several minutes since they disappeared to meet Lupa, and the march had long ended. The three present demigods were still wearing the heavy armor, but the backpacks were tossed to the ground next to the stones they would normally sit at. Percy didn't even feel the armor anymore, and concentrated solely on the water below him, breathing in the salty air. Ever since those hellhounds attacked, he had been feeling weaker, and didn't know why. Was it the thought of the orange tissue with the far too familiar Pegasus on it? The feeling that it was familiar to him and what that meant? Was he the enemy? Then why had Lupa trusted him and taught him things? This was just confusing, and he wanted to think about it, if his head wouldn't be acting up that much, giving him an even bigger headache than he had after the memory experiment yesterday noon.

"Mhh…" he just answered, his green eyes still fixed at the waves below him as his thoughts tried to ignore the headache. The boy noticed how the two girls behind him raised their eyebrows, seemingly not used to how he acted, all distant and thoughtful. Dakota was the one to step up to him and lay a hand on his shoulder while Gwen also approached behind him but kept several feet away. His eyes widened when Dakota touched his shoulder and a sudden pain went through his body. _What the-_

"Hey, is everything alright?" the daughter of Venus asked and raised her hand to stroke through his hair again, concern in her beautiful face. But Percy just shook his head and smiled a reassuring smile. He ignored the pain in his throat and shoulder, not knowing where it came from anyway. One moment, wasn't that where- No, that was impossible.

"Yeah, it's fine. Just a little headache." He lied, looking away from the daughter of Venus so she wouldn't see how miserable his whole body felt.

"Did you remember anything when we fought the hellhounds?" Gwen asked from behind them and Percy had to turn his head in astonishment. She had almost nailed it again. In some way, this girl was amazing, but on the other hand, it was a little spooky.

"How… do you know?" he asked, looking in the green eyes of the daughter of Apollo. Gwen just shook her head and looked at the horizon.

"I just know… it was in your expression, and I think Reyna and Hazel also noticed. So, what did you recognize?" she asked, her face concerned. Percy remembered her saying that Reyna and Hazel may see him as the enemy, and that Gwen wanted to help him avoid that. Filled with new drive, he opened his mouth, ready to explain everything to these two girls he trusted the most around here.

But out of nowhere, a growl could be heard. The bushes to their right rustled and out of it, the head of a hellhound appeared. All of their eyes widened.

"Again? But how?" Dakota breathed and pulled out a weapon from somewhere near her leg. Gwen reacted just as fast and her hands flew up to her ears where little green earrings were placed. Percy didn't even notice those before. She clicked them and out of nowhere, a bow appeared and several arrows could be seen in a quiver around her back. She pulled one out and fired at the hellhound who now jumped out of the bushes, barking furiously. The monster just dodged and behind it there were the other two, coming closer.

"Percy! Hurry up, Dakota and I are mainly long range fighters, you have to finish this!" Gwendolyn turned to him before firing three new arrows at once. Dakota now also threw golden bullets with her weapon that somehow looked like a slingshot. She whirled it around elegantly while her gaze was more serious than he'd ever seen it. The green eyed Teenager was shaken out of his thoughts, wondering how the hell those hellhounds could've survived. He admired the instincts of those two girls, they seemed used to fighting, even if they also seemed confused about the reappearance of the hellhounds. So Percy finally nodded and put his hands into his pocked to pull out his pen, uncap it and take a battle stance.

The hellhounds kept jumping around the meadow, dodging Gwens arrows and Dakota's bullets. Even if one of them hit, it actually only got the hellhound more angry. Percy felt his hands shaking. No, not out of fear. He was prepared to fight those monsters again. But it was this feeling of weakness from before, getting stronger and stronger as the hellhounds approached. Was it just him or was his breath getting heavier? Dakota and Gwen now pulled out their Pugios -Percy was told that that was the name for the knives they carried around- because the hellhounds were too close for bow and arrows now. They both looked at Percy and the black haired teenager nodded.

"Step aside, I got this!" he said and tightened the grip around his bronze sword. Even though he felt far too bad to even move, he surged forward and raised his weapon at the monsters, striking the blade down at the first one. But again, it just dodged as if his stroke had been far too slow. Were they getting better or was it him getting worse? The two girls stepped away as he told them but the hellhounds fought him back until they reached the cliffs again although he had attacked them in the middle of the meadow. What the heck was this? Dakota seemed to scream his name, noticing that he was in much trouble and suddenly, just Gwendolyn was there, telling him by yelling from the other side of the meadow that Dakota was looking for help.

Help? He didn't need any help! He had defeated Reyna and Bobby, two trained soldiers, and he could hold out against Lupa -a goddess!- several minutes. And he even had the feeling that he had fought other things… beings far stronger than Lupa. Three hellhounds shouldn't be a problem, right? But he found himself holding out just a minute or two, blocking and slow attacking the monsters. Suddenly, he heard voices and steps from behind the hellhounds, someone yelled at him.

"Percy, I got Reyna, Hazel and Bobby, hold on a little more-" but he couldn't hear Dakota finish her sentence. It was just then when one of the hellhounds leaped at him, slamming at him with full force and jumping down the cliff with him. He fell, fighting with the hellhound in midair and struggling with the wind. Shit, the cliff! He would land hard on the water and maybe even land on the stones down there.

"Percy! No! PERCYYYY!" he heard Dakota scream with panic and Gwen also let go a scream of shock. The last glimpse he got of the meadow showed him that Reyna, Hazel and Bobby ran to the side of the cliff and began attacking the hellhounds while Dakota was in the back with Gwendolyn, the blonde had tears in her eyes and stared at him in horror.

Was this the end for him? Falling off a cliff with a hellhound wasn't exactly the way he had planned to go down. His vision seemed to fade even before he reached the water below. It was like he had feared, the boy had been getting weaker by the second. Strength had been drained from his body, and his breath was heavy when they finally reached the surface of the ocean. Water now surrounded them and Percy felt like he was sinking deeper while the hellhound tried to reach the surface again, struggling for air. As always, he was able to breathe underwater.

Still, he felt as if everything was getting darker, and the last thing he was able to see were the bubbles he created in the sea before everything became completely black…

* * *

_Yeah. That's it. The hellhounds just reformed. What'd you await, it's Gaea's doing after all XDD. But what's up with Percy? Hellhounds are normally no match for him, right? What happened to him that he falls off the cliff like that..._

**Haha. Hope you like my little cliffy. No, you won't, I know. But if I don't make cliffhangers, I feel like my story is too predictable and you don't sense any suspense any more! D: Please bear with me xP **  
**But tell me what you think besides that cliffys suck! I wanna know XD**

Next chapter could take a while. Eventually. We don't have to hurry now any more, right? :3


	35. The Snow Princess' daughter

_October, 15th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_**-**_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello again, local readers! :D_

_I red the book. Yes, I finally did it. In one day. I'm proud now XD. **So if you didn't read it yet, DON'T READ MY COMMENTS NOW!** x_x_

_**~~Spoiler~~**_

_I loved it. I really did. And even though it was totally different from what I made up, I enjoyed it very much. Only thing I hated was the cliffhanger at the end. That _really_ annoyed me - I wanted that reunion scene so badly- even though I know how enjoyable it is to produce those cliffhangers. What I learned from the book? That Amazon is run by evil man-hitting women, big snakes are afraid of weasels and that Percy's pen sadly can't do grenade form. Seriously, that was the best part of the book. I laughed so hard XD_

_But even though I enjoyed it, I'm not longing for the next one as much as last time. Maybe that is because I want to finish this story first and because I have it and all my imagination is gladly still here and kicking, even fresher than before. It was also so funny that Riordan actually had similar ideas to mine! I was so amused to see several things I also added to the story. But I assure you: All that is following now has already been in my head. I swear! XD You'll wonder if I added something later on at some time but I swear on the river Styx and my life that it was so beforehand. Except for the bath thing. That was just too nice to ignore. Well, you'll see later on xP._

**_~~Spoiler End~~_**

_Weeeelll, as for this chapter: It's not beta-ed. Because you all begged for it and I was so sad to see you suffer XD. Dunno. Wanted to do you a favour because you're so sweet to me :) But after the book I have to say: You seriously can't compare me with Riordan. I'm no match at all to his humour and way of planning... Seriously. _

_Plus, yes, it's Greek again. But I guess the story has to go on either way, right? Hope the English isn't THAT bad without the beta-ing. Tried my best. Now you see how bad the chapters are because an American looks over it XDD.  
_

___**Anyway! Now please enjoy!**_

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_**Chapter XXXV**_

**Annabeth**

The lights went out, it was completely dark except for the sunlight that now came through the hole in the ceiling and of course the summoned lightning bold. It hit Thalia's spear and she directed it at the monsters with a motion she had practiced so many times. All of them were shot backwards, some descended into dust at the spot and some were knocked out, landing hard on each other or at the wall. Annabeth shielded her eyes from the eruption of lightning and when she looked up, the room was eerily dark. Oh not again. She hated to not see how she was going.

"Now come on, let's get out of here. Follow me, I'll light the way." Thalia suddenly whispered into silence in the direction of the three demigod girls and pulled out a flashlight from her backpack. She lit the way to the door as quickly as she could. Making it out rather fast, they were blinded by the bright daylight and Piper now pulled the confused Roman girl along as they ran over the railway, down the street and finally reached their plane. The daughter of Athena was out of breath when they finally arrived and had to support herself on her knees to steady her breathing again.

In the meantime, Leo, Grover and Jason had managed to pull the jet out of the tree, leaving them with only the problem of the wing. Annabeth had held it in hand the entire time and now handed it to Leo.

"Here. And hurry. We really don't have that much time. Monsters on our heels." She summed up, speaking under her breath.

All three of them looked confused at their sudden arrival and at the sight of all of them being bruised and torn. Jason was the first to get hold of the situation. He ordered Leo to attach the wing as good as he could so they could manage a start to get away. Annabeth asked him to land several miles away, they had to talk. Her tone seemed to shake the other boys out of their trance and they agreed, readying the plane as fast as they could.

Thalia looked around. Standing in the middle of a field, it would be easy for the monsters to spot them. So she readied her spear again, her blue eyes flying over the vast landscape. Annabeth did the same with her dagger, grabbing it tightly in alarm. Finally, she spotted several black points on the horizon, her muscled stiffened.

"Quick. Get in."

"But we're not ready yet." Grover argued, pointing at Leo who still tried to get the fire in his hands to the heat that would help attach the wing. Annabeth didn't know why he wouldn't summon something from his belt for this…a blowtorch or something that would help him. Maybe his belt was exhausted from repairing the machines. Finally, out of nervousness, the son of Hephaestus gave up and turned around.

"I need more time" he concluded, looking at Thalia. The hunter just sighed and took a step to the right so Leo could see the monsters coming in. Annabeth bit her lip and watched nervously as the monsters got closer and closer. It seemed like the entire army was after them and as exhausted as she was, there was no way they could take on all of them with just the six of them. And yes, the girl didn't count, she didn't seem to be in any condition to fight.

"Well…we don't quite have that." Annabeth said to Leo and pointed towards the army of monsters that came closer. All of their eyes widened and suddenly, they all agreed to start right now instead of trying to fix the machine first.

As everyone got on, the motor began to roar. They had just taken the girl with them because they lacked the time to further discuss it. Annabeth didn't know why but she didn't like this for some reason. It was just a feeling.

And with that, they had a new friend on board while the giants reached the tree when they just started to rise into the air.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence until they reached a steady height. The plane seemed to fly unsteady and Annabeth hoped that they wouldn't crash again. She didn't feel like she was able to pull another plan out of her sleeve if that happened. It was just late afternoon but the daughter of Athena felt like it was already midnight or something.

"Wow, that was a close call." Piper finally stated, sinking back into her seat and sighing. Yeah, that pretty much summed it all up. There was a short silence after that before all heads turned to the new girl they brought. Annabeth leaned forward and forced a friendly smile.

"Hi, welcome on board. May I ask your name and parentage?" she asked in a curious tone. The monsters seemed to have been rough with her, Annabeth noticed how her clothes were torn and her skin was showing several cuts and bruises. She seemed to have been in thought and confused but now looked at Annabeth and stroke her black hair out of her face. That was also when the daughter of Minerva noticed that she looked somehow Asian. Her skin was a slight tone of yellow and her eyes created almonds with irises of a bright blue that didn't fit with the rest of her appearance. They were blue and cold as ice even though her gaze wasn't cold, rather curious.

"My name is Yuki. And what do you mean with parentage? Who are you all?" she asked, her tone a little wary as if she wasn't sure if she could trust them. She shot a glance at their orange camp shirts and read the words on it, obviously just more confused afterwards. It was now Jason who stepped forward even though he seemed to still concentrate on the flying and the air around them.

"You're a Roman demigod, aren't you?" he asked, his arms raised to both sides so it was easier to control the winds. Thalia stood behind him this time, back to back with her brother and in the panic of their escape she seemed to forget her fear of height for the moment. Yuki looked up to Jason and her ice blue eyes widened.

"Y-you are…Jason!" she exclaimed and was close before standing up, her mouth open out of shock.

"What are you doing here, the first legion is out of worry for you!" she sat up properly, letting go of the knees she had hugged before. When she spoke, Annabeth immediately noticed the slightly Asian accent in her voice and thought about her name also being Asian. But she knew Jason, that meant that she really was Roman and she knew the Castra. Was it possible that she knew something about Percy as well? One moment. No, she had decided to not trust her, right? But then again, there was nothing untrustworthy about her. She had refused to answer the question about the parentage but that was only understandable if she didn't know who they were. Jason now smiled before answering her question.

"We'll explain everything later. Just let me tell you that I don't remember much of our Castra so answering questions about it should be a little difficult. Shouldn't we land soon, Leo?" he asked the last question as he turned his head in the direction of the cockpit and there was a sound from the speakers again.

"Yeah, it should be save now. I'll find us a spot somewhere far from civilization. Landing approach ready!" the son of Hephaestus sounded through the speakers and one could hear the grin he had on his face. Oh man, he was far too loose about all of this. They just fled from an army of monsters and he kept grinning.

The daughter of Athena felt how their plane began to fly lower and she was glad that Leo was actually able to manage a proper landing because Yuki already seemed a little unstable, sickness shouldn't be added to the list. She leaned back in her seat and closed her grey eyes. Her mind was racing, thinking about the suspicion that had raised in her chest when they had found Yuki. She was a Roman demigod, obviously. And they were about to go to the Roman camp to make peace with them. So why did she have this feeling? Was it just because of the prophecy? But wasn't it always like that? She thought it meant one thing and it was just the other way 'round in the end? Like that time, when she had that prophecy line that said "lose a love to worse than death" and she first thought that it meant Percy, who exploded together with that volcano. But he survived and it had meant Luke even though she later on realized that she didn't even love him the way she did with Percy. Then again, the longing to see him rose in her chest and she wanted to meet him more than ever, wanted to ask Yuki about him, if she knew that he was in the Castra or not. It was now the tenth day without him and even though she knew where he was now, her worry didn't falter completely. What if they changed him? She couldn't handle a stiff Percy, even though his cocky side sometimes really annoyed him. And then the second line of the prophecy…no, she really shouldn't think about it. That was just too…horrible? Unimaginable? A voice in her head wanted to convince her to think about it, after all, it was a prophecy and she always thought about those. This one was just far worse than the others she'd encountered and the enemy was even stronger than Kronos. How the hell were they going to manage all of this? On top of that, the gods wouldn't even help them. Great, really.

The blonde was shaken out of her thoughts when they finally reached the ground with a small rumble. Looking out of the window, she could see a vast, empty landscape full of several empty trees and snow. It was a beautiful scene even though Annabeth guessed that it would be extremely cold out there with the wind blowing without hindrance. The jet left a small trail in the snow and as they left the plane, Annabeth enjoyed the fresh air like she did whenever she arrived at camp half-blood. Of course she had to pull her jacket around her a little tighter. The air was freezing.

Thalia left the plane first and seemed close to vomiting. But she caught herself when her brother helped her down and suggested to collect firewood. Piper said she would help and the three together didn't take long to get some branches stacked.

When they all sat around the fire Leo had lit for them, collected some stones to sit on and sighed relieved, Annabeth finally felt save. Well, at least a little. Yuki now sat next to her and on her other side there was Piper, who was followed by a thoughtful Jason and a slightly green Thalia. Leo tried to start a conversation with the daughter of Zeus but she just kept shaking her head and ignored him. Grover sat next to Annabeth and started to question her about the monsters they had met. The daughter of Athena told him and he seemed very worried. They had been attacked this early in the mission. But Annabeth calmed him down by reminding him of the attack the furies had made on them on their first quest. Grover just bleated and shook his head as if he wanted to get rid of the memory.

"Yeah, don't remind me of that." He said, grinning. Finally, when they all calmed down a little and had warmed themselves at the fire, Annabeth turned to Yuki again, her gaze questioning. Yuki saw her gaze and smiled a little.

"Hey, Yuki. I bet you're a little confused about this whole thing. I guess you're coming with us? We're headed for San Francisco." The Asian girl now nodded slowly and stroke her straight black hair behind her ear again. Since the conversations around the fire weren't really lively, everybody turned their heads towards them now, wanted to hear more about the newcomer.

"I guess. I don't think I'll get back there alone. Not after what happened with those giants." She sighed and stared into the fire as if it was evil. Annabeth nodded and let her think a little before asking again. At the same time, she asked herself if Yuki had been on a quest and if that was the case, if she had traveled alone. What had happened to her comrades? She decided to continue her questioning since the others wanted to know the facts as well.

"So, you're a demigod, right? Who's your godly parent?" her curiosity didn't totally disappear. She tried to hide it but it didn't quite work. She would understand if Yuki would stay quiet, after all, she didn't know any of them and it was logical of her to be mistrustful. Finally, Yuki looked away from the fire again and she didn't smile this time.

"My father is a Japanese businessman. My mother was a goddess. She also was the one inspiring my name, you know? Yuki means "snow" in Japanese. My mother is Kione, goddess of snow."

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, you heard right. What will come of this encounter...we'll see next chapter :D Btw, don't ask why they left the plane. I don't know it myself, they just wanted a campfire, okay? XD_

**Anyway! Please tell me what you think and also about the book! I wanna know now :3 Really, I'd like to know what you think in comparison and what your favourite part is etc. etc. ! 8D**


	36. Freezing Campfire

_October, 19th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Carter Lee Grace_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello there, ma friends! :)_

_Just wanted to make an update before another week passes without me noticing xP. I'm going to be busy on the weekend so I'm not sure about when the next update will be. But let me tell you that I'm trying to be faster (than last week xD) from now on and I'm also going to reply to all of your reviews from now on. You guys really deserve that ^^ I'm so thankful that you're still sticking with me even though the book is already out! :3 I hope it stays like that and I'm not making the story boring for you all of the sudden ^^". _

_Yes, it's Greek again. But the order is already determined before I post and I'll keep it that way. Just to have you keep the surprise-factor xD. But trust me, the Greek story is also going to get a** lot** more interesting from now on.. :D At least it's a long one. That's what you wanted, right? XD  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

* * *

**_Chapter XXXVI_**

**Annabeth**

"Khione?" Annabeth asked, her mind whirring with everything this could mean. The snow goddess was one of Gaea's servants, and one of Jason, Piper, and Leo's worst adversaries on their last quest. The daughter of Athena gripped her knife, not pulling it out of its sheath, but wary and prepared to attack at a moment's notice. Thalia glared daggers at the girl Annabeth had just questioned, causing Yuki to cringe backwards a bit.

"Have you ever had any contact with your mother?" questioned the daughter of Zeus, her voice clearly full of anger. Meanwhile, Jason, Piper and Leo all stiffened, their hands shifting closer to their weapons. Yuki seemed oblivious to their suspicious reaction, shaking her head and dropping her face into her hands.

"No, I haven't. I actually haven't even met her. After I was born, my…mom...suddenly turned bitter, according to my dad, and he never saw her again. But my dad had never wanted a child, so I grew up in the Castra." The tension in the cycle eased considerably with her explanation, and rather than glares, everyone looked at Yuki with pity in their eyes. Annabeth loosened her hold on her knife and sat back down.

Thalia spoke again, her voice much softer this time. Parental issues were something the daughter of Zeus could easily empathize with. "Oh…I'm sorry about that. You're not alone, though; most demigods rarely ever talk to their godly parents, sometimes not at all." The other demigods nodded in agreement, while Grover stared absently into the flame, something Annabeth found very unlike him. She wanted to ask about what was clearly bothering the satyr, but Yuki spoke up before the daughter of Athena could say anything.

"Who are you people anyway? I mean, I know Jason is a demigod from the Castra, but I've never seen you all before." Annabeth wasn't entirely ready to trust Yuki, but if she was coming with them, they had to tell her what they were up to. She could be a reliable source of information, and since they didn't even know where exactly the Castra Roma was, the daughter of Khione would be very helpful. Annabeth weighed the options; everyone else seemed okay with Yuki, but the daughter of Athena wasn't sure about how much she should tell. But the knowledge the Roman demigod would have was too important to give up.

"Jason is from the Castra, like you, but the rest of us aren't. We're Greek demigods." The daughter of Athena was prepared for the other demigod's reaction, her ice blue eyes widening as she leapt up from her seat on the broken down tree. Yuki reached to her waist, grasping for a weapon that wasn't there, staring warily at the people around her.

"Greek! But-" She cut off abruptly, looking over to Jason as if she wanted to know if this was some kind of practical joke, but no one yelled, "Surprise!" The son of Jupiter gave Yuki a look that showed he trusted the Greeks, and with no other option, the daughter of Khione plopped back down to her makeshift seat, the wheels in her mind turning as she tried to comprehend everything.

The Roman demigod stuttered as she spoke up again. "B-but that's not possible…Lupa always told us how the Greek religion faded and the gods moved on. How can there be _Greek_ demigods? Do you guys have a Castra –or whatever– too? Is that what's on your shirts?" She pointed at Annabeth's orange T-shirt, the black words reading CAMP HALF-BLOOD extremely evident even underneath the coat she had put on. The daughter of Athena noticed how quickly Yuki had come to accept their existence, but perhaps she was just being _too_ cautious. Throughout the next half hour, as they explained about the Greek camp and why the two camps never interacted, the daughter of Khione was friendly and open. Annabeth wasn't sure whether the Roman demigod's behavior was unusual or she was just like that; either way, she wasn't about to let her guard down completely.

As all the explanations of the Greek lifestyle dwindled to a conclusion, Piper looked worriedly at Yuki's appearance. "Aren't you a little cold?" the daughter of Aphrodite asked, pointing at Yuki's torn shirt and jeans, while Thalia pulled out a can of nectar from her backpack and tossed it to the daughter of Khione. She caught it, thanked the daughter of Zeus with a small smile and took a sip, her face relaxing quite a bit. She then turned to face Piper, responding to her question.

"I'm fine, actually. Snow and the cold don't really bother me." She leaned down to the ground and put her hand in the snow without hesitation as everyone looked over in anticipation. The snow seemed to gravitate towards her hand, forming a glove around her fingers and travelling up her arm.

Yuki pulled her hand back as the snow dropped back down. "Guess I owe that power to my oh-so-generous mother," Yuki said bitterly, pursing her lips. She paused for a moment before continuing, "But thanks for the concern. I mean, clothes that weren't torn up would be great, but the temperature isn't bothering me. Oh, and I guess I'd need a weapon if I want to be of any help to you guys…" The daughter of Khione trailed off, a crease in her forehead as she contemplated how to fight without a weapon, before her eyes lit up with a new question.

"What do you use to make your weapons? I've only seen this once before." She pointed at Annabeth's knife, strapped to the side of the daughter of Athena, whose brain was currently trying to put the puzzle pieces together, although none of them fit.

"That's Celestial bronze. But where would you have seen it before?" asked Annabeth.

"Oh, it was back at camp. The day before we left for our quest, a new soldier came to the Castra. He was…well, _different_ from most new recruits, and no one had any idea where he'd come from, so we were all confused. I mean, practically right after he arrived, he rescued one of our First Legion soldiers, Dakota, out of the ocean from a monster that was attacking her. I guess I could've got the story wrong, since I only heard about it when I joined the chaos down at the beach where our second-in-command, Reyna, was yelling at him- what's up with all of you?" Yuki had stopped her story, obviously noticing how everyone was staring at her in utter disbelief, and waited for clarification as to why it was so.

Annabeth's chest suddenly felt warm, but not because of the fire or the tea they had started to brew over it. No, it was because of what Yuki had just said – it _had_ to be Percy. The new recruit was "different" from the rest, and rescued someone from the ocean; considering the son of Poseidon was supposed to be at the Roman camp as part of Hera's exchange…

"Percy," she whispered, causing Yuki's blue eyes to widen.

"What? You know him? All of you?" She looked around, obviously astonished. The daughter of Khione easily identified their relieved expressions, particularly Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover, and it was the daughter of Zeus who answered Yuki's question, as the other two were lost in memories.

"Yes, we do. He was…well, the leader of our camp, like Jason was at yours. Percy had disappeared, too," she explained, careful to avoid mentioning Hera's plan in detail, just in case.

"So he's Greek?" As everyone nodded in response to her question, she went on, "Well, that explains a _lot_…"

"Oh, really? Why's that?" Annabeth asked, a mental picture in her mind of how much chaos Percy could make on his first day, and a small smile crept on to her face.

Yuki noticed everyone's curious expressions, and continued her story from before. "Well, I mentioned how he angered Reyna, right? Reyna's a daughter of Mars – um, Ares to you guys, I think. Anyways, he's the god of war, so she doesn't like being challenged." It wasn't a stretch for their imaginations, knowing Clarisse.

"So, apparently, Percy was completely dry, even though he'd just come out of the water. Half of the First Legion had arrived because Dakota had been in danger, and Reyna had been helping the new soldier. Dakota was thanking Percy, and Hazel and Reyna had figured out Percy's parentage. Now _that_ was some news!" Her blue eyes showed her disbelief at another child of the Big Three – the Romans must have known of the vow as well, assuming Jason was the only one.

"He was a son of _Neptune. _But as soon as they said it, Lupa appeared. Lupa's a wolf goddess; she's like our guardian and teacher, I guess, but she's _not _one to cross. Talking back to her might as well be a synonym for death. Anyways, she'd been around a lot recently, which was unusual, and for some reason Reyna got mad and started yelling at the goddess." Yuki turned to look directly at Jason, her voice dropping lower as she spoke again.

"Reyna's worried about you, Jason. The whole First Legion is. They try to hide it, but everybody knows. Lupa had always told us lower legions that we have to train harder, like the _First Legion_, which was always _perfect_! They can't afford to fall apart, but…there's something off now." She shook her head and looked away from Jason. The son of Jupiter was stiff, clutching Piper's hand tightly as he stared at Yuki. Was he getting more of his memory back?

Jason wasn't the only one acting weird, though. Leo had been staring at the daughter of Khione for quite some time, only breaking his gaze when their fire threatened to go out. Everyone else, however, was eager to hear the rest of Yuki's story, and she obliged. "Well, as I said before, Lupa isn't the nicest, especially when someone talks back to her." She cringed at the thought, as did the rest of them. "But Percy stepped up to Lupa, telling her to spare Reyna. It was probably the dumbest thing anyone could do at that moment." Annabeth had to smirk at Percy's predictable reaction.

"That wasn't even the weirdest part, though; Lupa spared him _and _Reyna. But after Lupa left, Reyna was even angrier at Percy, since she was too prideful to be rescued by a new recruit, according to her siblings. She attacked Percy, and…he _won_. Not even a scratch on him." Yuki and Jason both looked absolutely stunned by that statement, and Leo broke the silence that ensued with the question they were all thinking.

"Why's that so shocking? Is that Reyna girl that good?"

The son of Jupiter was the one to answer. "Yeah, as far as I remember, which isn't much. Reyna was the best, alongside me and…" He stopped, his eyes narrowing as if his headache was getting even more painful. "A-and Bobby, right?" He glanced at Yuki for confirmation, and she nodded.

"Yeah! She's the best with her twin swords, and Percy beat her with just one. His sword was made of the same stuff as your weapons. No wonder he's your leader – in the next few _minutes_, the entire Castra probably knew the story. It was unbelievable. Many of the lower ranked soldiers didn't like all the attention he got. A new recruit defeating Reyna, a son of the Big Three, especially _that_ god. And then later in the day, he joined the First Legion. It takes _years_ to get there for most. And with Dakota practically hung on him and his behavior…when I left, he definitely wasn't the most popular guy."

"He joined the First-" Jason began, but he was interrupted by Annabeth, who couldn't hold back the irresistible urge to ask a question that seriously bothered her.

"Who's Dakota?" She blurted it out faster than she had wanted it to. The daughter of Athena bit her lip, silently cursing herself, but Yuki seemed oblivious as she replied.

"She's in the First Legion, head counsellor of Venus cabin."

"So is she beautiful and brainless, flirting with every guy she sees, or is she actually worth something?" Piper's voice was harsh, but Annabeth couldn't help keeping the same bitter tone out of her thoughts as well. Percy wasn't known for his smarts, but he wasn't _that_ dumb, right?

"No, that's not how Dakota is." Jason stated before Yuki could even react. Everybody looked at him again, astonished that his memory seemed to be intact. "Dakota is a really dangerous and brave fighter. She's not a charmspeaker, like Piper. It's kind of…different with her. She didn't _flirt_ with everyone one, but she sort of…gravitated towards powerful demigods." He trailed off after that, obviously lost in thought, but he was jolted back to reality by Piper's unpleased response and piercing glare.

"So, powerful demigods…like you, for example?" she asked, her eyes narrowing even more.

"Or Percy?" Annabeth added, her grey shooting a deadly glare at the son of Jupiter. That wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear about that Dakota girl. Leo muttered something that was probably along the lines of _he's an idiot who has no idea how to deal with girls_, while Jason's eyes widened in astonishment, his hands flying up in defense. Unfortunately, he had pulled his hand away from Piper's, which was _not_ easing the tension at all.

"N-no! That's not what I meant, really! I…" He stopped, sighing as he lifted himself from the wood beneath him, holding his forehead. "I'm taking a walk." With that, he trudged away through the snow and the storm, which seemed to be getting heavier. The sky was starting to turn black, darkening much earlier than it should have. No one had noticed the change in weather earlier; with that realization, everyone around the campfire seemed to be reminded of their important quest.

Annabeth turned to Leo. "You think we'll be able to continue flying today?" she asked, and the son of Hephaestus shook his head and stood up, brushing some of the snow off of his clothes.

"I doubt it. I should probably go see how much more of the plane I can repair before it gets too dark for me to see," he said, also walking away. As soon as Leo had left, the fire shrunk quite noticeably, and it was significantly colder.

Thalia stood up, picking up her backpack. "Let's go back inside the plane. It's too cold to stay outside for much longer." Grover followed the daughter of Zeus, who asked Yuki to come along as well to give her new clothes and a weapon. Piper and Annabeth were the only ones left around the dwindling flames, and the daughter of Aphrodite smiled slightly at the girl beside her.

"Hey…is everything alright? I bet he's just fine…" It was nice that Piper was trying to comfort Annabeth, but the daughter of Athena wasn't up for conversation. She was absorbed in her own thoughts, most of which were going to give her a headache.

"I'm fine. Thanks. Yeah, I hope so. What's up with Jason?" she asked, not really that interested in the answer. Piper didn't seem to notice.

"I don't know…I think he's starting to remember more because of Yuki's story. I think I'll…go and talk to him," she concluded, walking away into the storm as Annabeth looked over at her.

The daughter of Athena was left alone, as she had wanted…or so she thought. As Piper's silhouette disappeared behind the snow, Annabeth wished that she could've asked the daughter of Aphrodite to stay. She hadn't been very vocal in their conversation; she hadn't been talking much at all over the quest. Everyone had tried to cheer her up, but she had denied their pity…because they didn't know the whole story. The painting in Rachel's cave had been at the front of her mind all day; even while fighting those giants, Annabeth wasn't concentrating enough, which was probably the cause of the cut on her arm and the burn on her shoulder. She wondered if Thalia had noticed, or if Grover had.

Oh. Of _course_ the satyr had noticed, what with his sensing-emotions thing. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Right now, she had to find the Castra Roma, or else there was nothing she could do to keep him from…she didn't want to think the words. There was no way she would be able to survive that. Not after _Luke_…oh gods, she couldn't believe how pathetic she was, falling to pieces over some _guy_ (even if Percy wasn't _just some guy_).

A single tear had made its way down her cheek, but she frantically wiped it away to make sure no one would see. The blonde tried to calm herself; she couldn't break down right now, not when she should be focused on the quest. She was still uneasy about Yuki joining their group, looking down at the remaining flickers of the fire. Even though the storm had gotten stronger, the fire was persistent and refused to die down. Annabeth picked up the last cookie from the box they had begun to eat. Some help from the gods would be nice, she thought, tossing the cookie into the flames as she looked to the sky, snow falling on her face.

_If any god up there is watching, I know this isn't a sacrificial flame, but could you please send some sign telling me if I'm doing the right thing? You're probably busy and I know that but still…mom? Zeus? Poseidon?_ Her grey eyes kept staring at the sky, then back at the fire. The cookie had disappeared, but nothing happened. She waited…and waited, a sudden rage rising in her chest. Why did the gods have to close Olympus just now? They knew that the demigods were trying to _help _them, right?

"FINE! Keep ignoring me, it's not like we're risking our lives here for _you_!" she yelled, suddenly at her feet. She heard a distant thunder, but Annabeth couldn't care less. She glared at the clouds, gritting her teeth, before stomping away towards the plane.

Because of her rage, the daughter of Athena didn't notice how among the remaining flames, a few logs formed a little girl's face, her eyes following Annabeth with a pitiful expression before fading away…

* * *

_Yeaaah. You'll probably already guess who that is xD. Anyway! I'll give you a hint at what's going to happen next (in the Greek part): It's something many of you asked for from...pretty much the beginning. I'm not good at it but I tried. So yeah, you'll see XD Maybe you can guess again ;P_

**And please tell me what you think! What you feel about Yuki and about that campfire and about what Annabeth thinks when she heard about Percy ETC.! XD I want to know Everythiiiing D:**

But for now good night xP.


	37. Mysterious Poison

_October, 22th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello there, my loyal readers! :)  
_

_Okay, it's not as stressful as I thought XD. So here's the new chapter because you waited so freaking long for a Roman update. This one will answer some questions but also throw in some new ones that are even more exciting -at least I hope so xP. Guess you'll have to find out yourself! So yeah, this time no long talk, just enjoy the Roman-ness. :D  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XXXVIII**_

**Dakota**

No! This couldn't be happening! With horror, the daughter of Venus watched as Percy lost balance and slid off the side of the cliff, the painful way, when the hellhound hit him with full force. She wanted to go after him and punch these monsters to death, but in the next moment, she felt arms around her and saw Reyna behind her, keeping Dakota from running. She had sprinted to that cave to get Reyna here and help him, but even though she succeeded, it was still too late? This couldn't be! Why did he suddenly have such difficulty with hellhounds? He had been so fit when it came to sword fighting with Bobby and Reyna, why not now? Why didn't he just slice those monsters apart? It should be a piece of cake for a son of Neptune! Where did they come from anyway? If it was her, she would say they were the same ones they just killed this morning. But that couldn't be, right? She personally saw them crumble to dust!

"Percy! No! PERCYYYY!" the blonde screamed and tried to get rid of Reyna's arms around her. But the daughter of Mars was really strong, and her glare was imperious again when she whispered in Dakota's ear. The blonde felt how the grip started to make her bones hurt but she didn't care, struggled nonetheless.

"Dakota, calm down. That's an order. There's nothing we can do for him anymore… Hazel!" she let go of the blonde and turned to the daughter of Minerva, who had already drawn her throwing knives. But the now freed Dakota noticed that Reyna also seemed a little shaken by what she had witnessed. As always though, Reyna was the perfect actor and hid it from the other three girls and Bobby. Dakota just sobbed silently and hid her face in her hands, not able to look at the spot where Percy had slid off. The son of Mercury was the first one reaching the hellhounds and strangely, the monsters seemed to know their tricks by now. They dodged and tried to bite Bobby every time his guard was down.

Behind Dakota, there was a noise, and the demigod turned around just to see Gwendolyn. She came closer to the daughter of Venus and suddenly wrapped her arms around her in a hug. The teenager hadn't even noticed how she'd begun crying really bad. This couldn't be happening, right? He fell off that cliff… it was completely impossible to survive it. 150 feet into the ocean with all the rocks down below… no, not even the hellhound who fell with him could've lived through it. Why? First Jason and now Percy… she had begun to really like the guy, he was good looking, extremely strong, and even really nice. That was rare with the normal male soldiers here. She had dated many, and all of them were so focused on power and everything that the romance was practically nonexistent. Since she was in the first legion for some time now, the guys from lower legions tried to vow her so they had privileges. But she wasn't that simple, even if it seemed like that. And she had noticed how the other males seemed to kill Percy with their glares. They should just piss off. After all, Percy didn't ask for the attention. He even seemed uncomfortable with it. That was a little bit like Jason behaved when he was first suggested to be the leader. He didn't like the idea either. Lupa said it to them very often: The best leaders were those who didn't ask to become so. Percy didn't ask. Even if Reyna seemed to think that. He was just too stubborn, but that didn't mean he was obsessed with power. But that was all a bagatelle now, he was gone for good… and it seemed to Dakota as if she would drown in the sea herself, full of grief. Why did the gods hate the powerful and nice demigods that much? It was just so unfair…

In the meantime, Hazel and Reyna had reached the two remaining hellhounds and now delivered them some severe wounds. Reyna was about to finish hers when suddenly, a noise could be heard. Dakota loosened her grip around Gwen and looked up, searching for the source of the noise. It was irritating, like a waterfall but still somehow different.

That was the moment she spotted him.

Percy Jackson was rising from the ocean, his arms stretched out on both sides and around his legs… a-around his legs there was water… so much water. It seemed to carry him and created a giant pillar of ocean water stretched out below him. On top of that, Percy seemed just fine. How could this be, he just fell off a crazily high cliff! Though Dakota noticed strange marks on his throat and wondered where they came from. She hadn't seen them before... Still, now that Reyna, Hazel and Bobby saw Percy, their eyes went wide and out of nowhere, Reyna shouted:

"Out of the way!" in direction of the other two, who didn't wait long to listen to that order. All three of them leaped to the side and out of range for Percy and the hellhounds. Reyna's reaction had been just in time. The son of Neptune had landed on the ground, the water stretching out around him now. He had his sword drawn and the bronze gleamed with a golden light when he motioned his hand without the sword forward and the water suddenly began attacking the monsters. The green eyes of the demigod shone with a gleam Dakota hadn't seen before, and she was sure that it was rage, or maybe determination. In the blink of an eye, the two remaining hellhounds had crumbled to dust from the water and the slices of Percy's sword. And since the dust was in the water, Percy must've told it to return to the ocean, because in the next moment, the dust, plus hellhounds, vanished to nothingness.

Before any of them could react to this fabulous demonstration of his powers, congratulate him, or celebrate that he was still alive, the hero suddenly collapsed on the spot. His seagreen eyes closed and he let out a sound of pain before breaking down completely, landing first on his knees and then painfully on the back. Dakota gasped and she heard Gwen –who had let go of her by now- beside her do the same, clapping her hands to her mouth.

"Percy? Is everything alright? Hey!" the daughter of Venus gained control over her limbs again after the shock died down and immediately ran over. Although the other three were closer to Percy, Dakota was still the first one to reach him, her face extremely worried. What happened? Had the ocean protected him from dying when hitting the water? But why did he collapse then? Kneeling down beside him, she whipped the tears from her blue eyes quickly and grabbed him by the shoulder to shake him awake.

"Percy? Wake up, will you? Please?" she pleaded, and when he didn't react, looked up to the others, panic slowly rising in her chest. She had wanted to congratulate him on the win and cheer him on because he was alive, maybe even kiss him out of joy. But all of that was nonsense now, because she was afraid of experiencing the feeling she had just felt, the feeling of losing him. This must've shown in her eyes when she now looked at his unconscious body.

She squeaked and heretofore she hadn't seen what exactly the marks on his throat were. She lifted her hand now and stroked over them, Percy's face became even more painful and he took a shaky breath. It looked like the marks of a bite, the marks from the teeth of a hellhound. It must've been the one he received this morning, when the three hellhounds had attacked the first time around. But his skin was completely unhurt. Still, where the teeth had hit the skin, he seemed to have purple markings that were now becoming bigger while Dakota watched, starting to build lines that crept down his throat to the wishbones.

The others apparently daunted out of their trance, because Gwen now appeared in front of the blonde, and Reyna landed beside the healer, looking at Percy just as confused, and also worried. Wow, Reyna was actually worried? Yes, that was definitely a first. Well, if you subtracted the many times Bobby got himself hurt. Jason wasn't quite counting. He was after all her best friend. But that was not important right now.

"What happened?" the second in command asked, looking at Gwen who already started to study the marks. Percy's breathing was heavy and his face showed that he was in severe pain. Oh no… this couldn't be good.

"He's poisoned. This is strange… his skin isn't hurt, but it seems like the poison spread underneath it. I-I didn't know that hellhounds have poisonous teeth!" she stuttered and immediately started a chanting to her father, the hands spread out over Percy's throat.

"They haven't." Hazel stated solemnly. She stood next to them, but didn't bother to kneel down. The daughter of Minerva was behind Dakota so the blonde couldn't directly see her, but the voice of the brunette was clearly audible.

"There's someone extremely clever behind this. But I guess we were wrong, Reyna. If they poisoned him I don't guess he's on their side." She had crossed her arms in front of her chest and with her words, rage built up in Dakota's belly button. She had seriously thought that? While Reyna just nodded thoughtfully, Dakota rose from her knees, turned around and glared at Hazel with her blue eyes, hands at her hip. The blonde hair flogged around her face in the usually beautiful way while the daughter of Minerva had her long hair in a topknot, two pencils inside of it as if she was ready to take a note any time. Her anger against this stiff, strategy fixed girl began to rise in Dakota again. She had stopped to argue with Hazel a long time ago, it was pointless after all. But this was just… impossible!

"Of course he isn't! How could you think that, he didn't do you any harm!" she pointed at the daughter of Minerva and then back at Percy, who lay there with his teeth pressed together and sweat that broke out on his forehead. Hazel didn't seem to be in the mood to back down and so she countered, her stormy grey eyes throwing back the deathly stare she was so known for. Dakota didn't even flinch.

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe not yet! You can't say that you fully trust him, there are too many points that tell us he's not normal!"

"But I do! I do trust him! Why the hell shouldn't I, he saved my life!" she stated plainly but noticed how her statement had turned into a shout.

"Oh come on, that was some puny little sea monster! Just because you have that little crush on him, that doesn't mean he's a pure and good person!" Hazel gestured to the sea like it was a disgusting place to speak of, and now also had one hand at her hip, her grey eyes trying to stare Dakota down, even though she knew that the blonde demigod was one of the few persons her death stare didn't work on one bit. Right now, the daughter of Venus herself had a deadly glare on her face. If it came to love, there was nothing to argue with her, no compromises. She had always hated Hazel for her way of thinking about boys. It was almost like she agreed with her poor excuse for a mother who had sworn on virginity for eternity.

"_My_ little crush you say? Well, if _you_ want to be narrow-minded like this for the rest of your life, I swear by the name of my mother that I'll-"

"GIRLS! Will you _shut up_ already? Gwen, is everything alright, you're really pale!" Reyna had interrupted them, kneeling beside the daughter of Apollo all the time and watched her heal. Bobby, who stood next to Hazel, gazed at the lying Percy with even more rage in his eyes than the daughter of Minerva, then shot a look at Reyna's hand that was again close to Percy's, back at the boy s face, and Dakota could swear that the son of Mercury would like to kick the black haired guy even now that he was obviously ill _and_ unconscious. To be sure to protect him from that fate, Dakota again kneeled next to him and personally held his hand, pressing it tightly while she shot the really pale Gwen a questioning glance. She threw Hazel one last deadly stare which determined the conversation to be ended when they were more private before focusing her attention back on Percy.

"No, I'm alright, but…" Gwen paused, whipping sweat from her forehead. "It's just that the healing isn't helping as much as I'm used to… we need to get him to the infirmary, quick! He has a toxemia and I need to show the poison to my sibling Sybille, she's very good at mixing Antidotes. Bobby, could you please carry him, I don't think I can-"

"I'll do that. Guess I owe him one, it's my fault we weren't here early enough." Reyna interrupted Gwen and lifted Percy by grapping his hand, pulling him up and laying his arm around her one shoulder. The other arm was thrown over the other shoulder and she lifted him without much difficulty although Dakota could guess that with his many muscles, Percy wasn't the lightest person in the world. Bobby now seemed close to exploding. The son of Mercury gritted his teeth and glared at Reyna's hand holding Percy's wrist before she grabbed under his legs to lift him from the floor. Carrying him in piggyback, they all walked over to the infirmary, which was a long walk, like it seemed. They passed many soldiers who shot them curious looks on their way. Dakota kept glancing at Percy's face, which seemed more in pain by the second. She couldn't bear this… yeah, maybe she only knew him a day, but hey, wasn't there love at first sight? She was sure that her mother would say yes to that question.

They reached the infirmary after like it seemed an hour and finally, Percy could be laid down on one of the beds while Gwendolyn already disappeared to get her sibling out of tent 7. In the meantime, Percy was already taken care of by another Apollo child, who was from legion two and also a good healer. Dakota didn't know her name -she must've been new in the second legion- but the blonde asked if she could help her, desperate to do something productive. Sometimes, she envied Gwen for her healing, she herself could do nothing but vow as a special power, and she didn't know if that alone was that special at all. They took off Percy's armor and shirt -revealing his sexy upper half- and a necklace he had obviously been wearing, which startled Dakota a bit. Why would he be wearing a necklace anyway? She had already wondered that yesterday when he had taken off his shirt up in the main house. But the daughter of Apollo just laid the bead necklace on the nightstand with the comment that it was useless anyway, the hellhound that had bit him had torn the leather band and Percy was lucky to not have lost the thing until now.

When Gwen got back from her tent, she had brought Sybille and explained the problem. Sybille was a tall girl, also from the second legion and had long, straight blonde hair and almost golden eyes. Dakota knew that she was longing to become the praetor of her tent, and saw Gwendolyn as a tough opponent. In contrary to most of her siblings though, she liked Gwendolyn and could interact with her properly. But that didn't matter right now. Just when Dakota got out of her thoughts, Sybille said that they needed to take a sample of his blood to define the poison. Without that, there couldn't be any antidote made. Gwendolyn got out a syringe and wanted to inject it in Percy's skin. It didn't work. The needle broke right off and left the rest of the instrument alone, no harm done to his skin, as if he was wearing an invisible armor out of indestructible steel. Dakota had wondered since yesterday what spell did that to his body. It made him even more interesting, if you asked her. Sybille was completely shocked, staring at the spot where the needle broke off, but Gwen just nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that's logical. He's unhurt by a sword, why should it work with an injection? But maybe…" she seemed deep in thought and next time, she pointed the needle directly above the spot where the tooth of the hellhound should've hit his skin. Suddenly, the needle sunk in as if Percy's skin was made of butter and just as sudden, blood, colored slightly violet started to flood the injection…

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_Dudun. Why did it sink in? What's wrong with the steel skin? Strange, right? We'll have to see what it is :D But I'm curious what you think of Dakota after this chapter. And about her fight with Hazel xD. I don't want you to see Dakota as a simple Aphrodite/Venus-b**, she has her qualities as well xD And It's not her fault she doesn't know about Annabeth XP. Anyway! Worried about Percy much? Well, you should be!_ _:o_

**Please tell me what you think, I'm curious like hell! After all, you wanted a Roman chapter and here you got it! XD**


	38. Struggle for the Cure

_October, 27th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter: **_Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello there, my loyal readers! :)  
_

_Sorry for the late, guys. Stress is kicking back in. I was just a little disappointed at the little feedback I got for last chapter (at first). But I should know that most of you will stop reading because the book is out and I can understand that. So no worries xP. But I'm continuing this story because I myself can't wait to write out the moment where Annabeth and Percy meet. Even if it's going to be much different from what most people wrote about it xP. But please be aware that I thought out this story with care and that's why it's maybe progressing slowly but surely. Hope that's alright with you xP Btw, about Dakota: I got something special in storage for her. And it may not be what you think it is. Not saying any more, be a little patient. :D _

_First time from Gwen's POV! Hope you like it, I did at least enjoy writing xD.  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

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_**Chapter XXXIX**_

**Gwendolyn**

As the needle suddenly sank in, Gwen's eyes widened in shock. Reyna looked up quizzically and searched for Hazel's gaze. Their eyes met and the daughter of Mars tried to transmit her question via her eyes. The daughter of Minerva seemed to understand and shrugged, obviously just as astonished as all of them were. He was a true mystery, this Percy here. Since he arrived, he had endowed more confusion than any other soldier in this Castra.

Reyna now began, looking at Gwen from the side. But the blonde was in fact just as shocked, her green eyes wide. She had to concentrate not to shudder too much and get the injection full of Percy's blood. Finally, the instrument was full and Gwen put a dry tissue on the small wound so it would stop bleeding. Her hands were now quick as lightning; almost without thinking. But her mind was racing with questions.

Wasn't his skin supposed to be invulnerable? Did he honestly have a weak spot at such an obvious place? No, that couldn't be… but was it really because of the poison? Maybe he wasn't immune to that? So her assumption had been right...this wasn't good. Who in the world would create a poison like this, and why did it hit Percy of all people? Or could it have been their intention all along? Was he the target of some kind of plot? But from who? Was it that mysterious woman Percy, Reyna and Hazel met in the forest? Man, there were too many questions to answer, how were they supposed to have clarity about all this, and on top of it, be able to find Jason? The daughter of Apollo now worked automatically. The problem of his invulnerable? skin was solved, and from now on, he was an ordinary patient.

She handed the blood to Sybille and her half-sister took it, turned around and walked to the small table in the corner. There, she filled some blood in several glasses and began to mix the antidote. Gwen could only hope that her capabilities would be enough to heal the son of Neptune. When she looked at him now, his situation wasn't really the best. His forehead was breaking out in sweat, and his breath was heavy, the green eyes were closed shut and his whole face told you that he was in pain. Same went for his muscles, since arms and legs were tensed. Whatever the hellhound had on his teeth, it seemed dangerous, if not even deadly. But that couldn't be, he couldn't die here! Wasn't he supposed to change the Castra,? Wasn't he supposed to be the key to finding Jason, and shouldn't he be part of the big prophecy? If that was the case, he couldn't just die. After all, all that couldn't happen if he just lay here and his heart stopped beating.

Because of that, Gwendolyn was doing her best to suck the poisoned blood out of Percy. She gave him something against the sepsis which where the lines that crept closer to his heart- and they now had the poison to take care of. She told Reyna that it was important to be quick. They didn't know if the poison was deadly later on or if it was just destined to weaken him. As Reyna had to stand up several times because Gwen needed her space, the daughter of Mars finally decided to leave the tent. Hazel followed her as did a seemingly outrageous Bobby. Oh no, did he get Reyna's actions wrong? The daughter of Apollo knew that Reyna would never have romantic feelings for someone as Percy. Yeah, maybe she thought of him as interesting even though she didn't even want to admit that. But never in her whole life would she fall for him and his rebellious streak, his propensity to ignore every single order he received. Gwen was pretty sure that Dakota was almost the only girl in the Castra right now who would actually like Percy in that way and she wasn't even sure if the daughter of Venus only liked him because he was powerful, or if there was any other reason for it. Whatever it was, it kept her next to his bed, and she also kept pressing his hand, worry written all over her pretty face. After Gwen and her half-sister worked on him for quite a while, Dakota finally spoke, and the daughter of Apollo heard the concern in her voice.

"How is it, Gwen? Is he going to be alright?" she asked, stroking some braids of blonde, curly hair behind her ear. The daughter of Apollo shook her head and sighed, scratched her sleeve and roughed up her short hair in thought and silent frustration.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know that yet… we still need the antidote to be sure. But Dakota-" She now lifted her gaze and smiled at the girl on the other side of the bed.

"I'm sure he'll be okay. Absolutely. Trust me." She winked at her and then stood up, hoping that she didn't promise too much there. But it was a fact, she had seen him in a vision that didn't happen yet, so he couldn't die here, right? Anyway, the blonde now walked over to her half-sister and looked over her shoulder.

"I think I'm close" Sybille said, obviously feeling the breath of her half-sister on her shoulder. Gwen was still wearing her full armor like the whole first legion, but she didn't quite care. In fact, she was almost used to it. There were days when Lupa ordered them to wear the armor all day, even in the summer. Still, right now it somehow annoyed her and she just nodded at Sybille's statement.

"That's really good. Wait, I'm helping you." she fingered the fasteners of her armor and pulled it off, tossed it on an empty bed. Then she sighed relieved, rolled her shoulders to enjoy the freedom and wanted to turn around and help her sister, when a small scream disturbed her thoughts. She turned around in alarm, only to see Dakota half standing next to Percy's bed.

"H-he just said something. I couldn't understand it but that's a good sign, right?" her blue eyes flew up to meet Gwen's green ones and the healer just nodded, smiling at the relieve in Dakota's eyes and face.

"Yes, that's usually good. But I still don't think that he'll get better without the antidote, especially that he won't wake up without it. Most likely, he murmured something because he's having nightmares." She stepped closer to Percy's bed and pressed her hand on his forehead after taking off the wet and already warm tissue. He was really burning up, there was nothing better than just a few minutes ago. They needed this antidote, quick. Looking up at Dakota, she just smiled again optimistically. It was just not her intention to make the daughter of Venus worry again. So she decided to hide Percy's true status a little.

"Yeah, it's getting a little better. You could help me by refreshing the tissue as soon as it's becoming warm."

Dakota just nodded and took the tissue out of Gwen's hands with almost too much hurry. Actually, Gwen was glad about a little help and returned to Sybille to aid her with the antidote.

All three of them didn't even notice how time passed. Percy was getting weaker by the minute, and Gwen kept searching for the antidote. The Castra life around them continued as if nothing happened, though almost the whole legion camp probably already knew that the new guy from first legion had landed in the infirmary, because now and then, the daughter of Apollo noticed curious watchers and had to throw them out of the already overcrowded infirmary. It only added to her stress, and she astonished probably everybody that knew her when she snapped once at two girls that didn't want to listen and kept telling her they were here for some ambrosia although Gwen knew pretty well that they weren't in need for any. Reyna had been present right there and finally threw the two girls out in the blink of an eye. The daughter of Mars didn't even have to say anything, a simple glance from her angry brown eyes was enough to make the girls shudder. After that was finished, Reyna went back to Percy and told Dakota that she had to come to breakfast and continue her training. Even though Reyna tried everything, Dakota wouldn't budge and decided to stay at the infirmary. Finally, the daughter of Mars agreed, but insisted that Dakota told her when they had found the antidote or Percy was waking up.

Sometimes, Gwen envied Reyna for her authority. In the Castra, nobody really listened to Gwen, even though she was part of the first legion. Maybe that was because her siblings kept the mobbing up. They had begun a few weeks after Gwen had reached the Castra, her clothes torn, worn out, but otherwise perfectly fine. She had healed her own wounds while getting here, coming all the way from Phoenix, Arizona. That was a pretty long way for a seven year old. Her siblings here took care of her, but they had never understood her immense talent when it came to medicine. And her mother-

A test tube splintered on the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sybille." Gwen whispered and kneeled down to clean the mess. She hadn't even noticed how while working, her thoughts had wandered over the miserable parts of her past, causing her to throw away the antidote she had worked on. Shit, what if that had been the real one-

"I GOT IT! Oh gods, I'm finished, come quick, Gwen!" Sybille suddenly shouted, causing Gwen to jump up so fast she bumped her head on the little desk above her. Probably all the people present in the infirmary looked over because of the ruckus they were making. When Gwen finally made it up, rubbing her head in frustration, she saw how Sybille dropped some liquid into the poison and it seriously changed the color. That meant a success! Gwen screeched and hugged her sibling with joy. Finally, something positive had happened on this totally frustrating day!

They filled another injection with the antidote, and Gwen almost ran over to Percy's bed, where Dakota seemed close to fainting because the boy looked like… well, really bad. His flawless chest had begun to build sweat as well, and he didn't just lay still anymore, because his breathing had become even heavier. And from time to time, he clenched his fists, grabbing the bedspread below him really tight, and his jaw was tensed, as well as pretty much the rest of his muscles. Gwen had tried to calm Dakota down for a while now, but she had just become more furious. When she saw the injection in the healers hand though, her face lit up and she dropped back in her chair.

"You did it? Oh thank the gods…" she whispered, and rubbed her own forehead. Gwen just nodded and then stepped closer to inject the antidote. It succeeded just as last time, and she was still curious how this could be if the rest of his skin was invulnerable. When she finished, the healer got out a bandage and an ointment to treat the wounds from the outside a little further. Finally, she stepped back and smiled a little.

"Ready. Now we just have to see if he wakes up. Good work, Dakota. Thanks for the help." She said, also dropping on a chair next to the bed. Dakota just nodded and waved her hand to tell her that it was nothing special. But it was. Normally, Gwen didn't really have much to do with the daughter of Venus. They were in the same legion, yes, but most of the time, Gwen was alone or just standing there with the others, because she was part of the team somehow. But none of them connected to her fully, not even Jason. Of course, Jason had been nice to her and lifted her self-consciousness a bit, but really connected… even after 7 years in the Castra Roma, Gwen wouldn't say that she had friends, ya know. Plus, she was younger than all of the soldiers from first legion, that probably added to the reason why they couldn't interact with her that much.

Time passed, until they could be really certain that antidote actually worked. Gwen had to leave for archery class, but left Sybille at Dakota's side. Dakota had to report to Reyna, but afterwards quickly returned. When the head of the Apollo tent came back, she found the daughter of Venus pretty bored, fingering the necklace Percy had worn until the hellhound tore the leather band apart.

"I'm just wondering… where did he get this? On one bead, there are names written in a weird writing and it's the Empire State building on it. Maybe that means he _really_ has been there?" the blonde looked up when Gwendolyn sat on the chair on the opposite side of the bed again. Sybille had left the infirmary completely, because she now had to attend the training herself. The other daughter of Apollo just shrugged and sighed.

"I don't know, Dakota. But if Hazel says that's impossible… I don't know, really. Though I think in his case, the word 'impossible' gains a new dimension." She giggled slightly and stretched her neck a little, because it was stiff from a lesson she had taught in archery.

"Oh really? I'm honored to hear that." A hoarse voice was heard from between the two girls and they both turned their blonde heads in that direction. Green eyes the color of the sea looked back at them.

* * *

_Yay! Percy's awake xD. That wasn't that long of an illness I guess. But he's not completely cured yet..there are still so many things to clarify...:D_

**Hope you liked it! Please tell me what you think about it :3 I wanna know everything, even if you said it 100 times already or somebody else did or whatnot XD.**


	39. Missing HotHead

_November 19th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_**  
**

**A/N:** _omg, I'm back! Hi guys :3_

_Finally, here's a new chapter. It's not betaed yet but I was just too lazy and impatient to sit around and wait to upload. And some anonymous freak wrote me a review that said "another dead story" and that just made me mad. I hate it to have dead stories, trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I once wrote Naruto Fanfiction that never ended, okay? And Avatar. Man, I was a freak. Well, alright. Now I'm older and I really don't want my story to end like this. Plus, I already have chapters. I just need betas. So I'm just going to search for one! Yes, I still have stuff to do so don't rush me. And I don't know if university is getting harder this week or next one. But hey. I now upload a chapter without having it checked! Be motivated, guys and girls :D_

_So yeah. I have a not-betaed chapter for you. Plus, it's something you asked for: Piper and Jason. So yeah, read about them here and now, in my story that is going on. I swore on my life, remember? Romans take that seriously so I better not back down ;P  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

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**_Chapter XXIX_**

**Piper**

While Piper walked away from the campfire, she realized how cold it really was. When they sat near the fire and listened to the story that Yuki had told them, the daughter of Aphrodite didn't even notice the cold as if the fire was sucking it away. Leo had done really well, keeping the flames going in such weather.

She now stomped after Jason and was mad at herself. Why had she been so furious at him? He was probably just happy that he had remembered something from his past life and she had thrown it right back at him with a bitter tone. Plus, whenever he remembered something, he got a headache. She should know that by now, right? So she cursed silently and pulled her snowboarding jacket tighter around her waist.

"Jason?" she called out, almost screaming over the growing storm. She had seen a silhouette maybe a mile away between the trees in the distance. He just stood there, leaning at the tree. Even the direction he was looking in was hard to tell.

"Jason, is that you?" the brunette walked closer when she was suddenly interrupted by a far too familiar voice from right behind her.

"Who are you talking to?" Jason asked, his startling blue eyes looking at her quizzically while he walked closer to Piper. He hadn't been there just a second ago so Piper was a little shocked, stared at him, then back at where she saw the silhouette.

"I was-" but she interrupted herself as she saw that the silhouette was gone. There was nobody near that tree any more.

"There was…where is he?"

"Where's who?" The son of Jupiter asked, seemingly even more puzzled now, one eyebrow raised as he stepped right next to her and gazed in the direction she did, his eyes squeezed to slits.

"I just saw someone standing there by the tree but he's vanished…" she explained, pointing at the tree she meant. But Jason just shook his head slowly.

"Piper, there's nobody in this area except for us. And there's a storm coming, I think you were just seeing things." He smiled at Piper and even though she wanted to protest, she let it be because his smile told her he wasn't mad at her and that was enough for the daughter of Aphrodite right now.

"Yeah, and shouldn't we return to the plane because of said storm?" she asked, hugging herself because even though her jacket was warm, her face was still exposed to the snow and her jeans weren't really the best thing against the cold. But Jason just shook his head and suddenly took her hand, which forced Piper to stop hugging herself. The alternative was nice and warm though, so she didn't complain.

"No, I want to show you something I found. We can return after that." He said, pulling her in a different direction. The brunette saw some trees and giant stones in the distance and asked herself what the heck he should show her in this abandoned landscape. They passed some trees nearby and Piper started to think what people said about Illinois being full of nothing. To her, it seemed more like it was just full of nature and less full of people. And maybe that wasn't just a bad thing.

After they entered a little forest and the daughter of Aphrodite began to ask herself what the heck Jason was doing, they arrived at a little cave and Jason's grip around her hand became tighter. The stone cave stood between a whole bunch of pine trees and seemed to fit in the landscape very well due to the other stones that were scattered around here. Entering the cave was apparently a great idea because finally, the booming wind in Piper's ear stopped and she could at least hear properly. And of course the cold was less intense.

"Here it is. What do you think?" Jason asked and when they were just a meter inside the cave, Piper saw it. A little plant maybe as high as her hand was standing in the middle of the cave and there was even a small spot of grass around it. It was a strawberry. How a strawberry could grow in such a place, Piper had seriously no idea. The plant itself was beautiful, little white pendants all over the place and it seemed to glow in the completely white snow and even though it was so cold, the plant seemed completely healthy.

"Wow…it's beautiful." Piper finally said and kneeled down to see it better.

"Yeah, it is. That's why I wanted especially _you_ to see it." Jason now smiled this smile that could melt her down again and the brunette couldn't help but blush. She wanted to ask why he thought so but decided against it and looked back at the flower.

"How could it survive right here even though it's that cold? You think it's mythological in some way?" she asked and sat on a big stone a little farther back in the cave. Jason sat down close to her, really close. But again, Piper didn't feel like complaining. No, she enjoyed it. The son of Jupiter turned around and looked into the dark heart of the cave. He laughed a small laugh.

"I don't remember hearing of a mythological strawberry. It's more likely because of that warm breeze that's coming from in there. Maybe there are springs in here or it's even leading farther into the earth. Plus, the winter just started here, it was probably lucky." He lifted his brows and looked as if that was a totally logical explanation.

"What warm breeze? I don't feel anything" Piper stated and also looked behind her, her hand still holding onto Jason's.

"You don't? Well than maybe it's me imagining now." He shrugged, grinned and turned towards the flower again. Piper giggled a little but soon, she was absorbed by his presence again and became quieter. Silence filled the cave and Piper didn't know what to say. It was a little romantic here though it was still extremely cold. The strawberry plant sure was sweet and she had enjoyed being alone with him and that he wasn't mad at her.

"It's cold.." she finally breathed with no real intention behind it. Little puffy clouds were escaping her mouth every time she exhaled. Suddenly, she felt something around her waist and realized pretty soon that it was Jason's arm, pulling her closer to him. She couldn't keep her cheeks from flushing again and even though she couldn't see his face, she was sure he was blushing too.

"Better now?" he asked, obviously smiling. Piper just nodded and snuggled a little closer to his chest, enjoying the excuse to be that close to him. Plus, it really was warmer there. Again, they were silent for a while, just enjoying the presence of one another. It was the first time they had the time to be alone since this quest started and Piper felt all the worries about their actions rising in her chest, wondering if she should ask Jason about it. Jason himself seemed deep in thought, staring at Piper and sometimes out in the snowstorm with an unreadable expression. Finally, Piper decided to ask him about the campfire thing. She didn't want to start right off so she asked:

"How's your headache doing?" her colorful eyes were trying to meet his but it didn't quite work from this position.

"Oh, it's alright…it was just…what Yuki said brought back so much. I don't know if I should be happy or sad about it."

"Why should you be sad?" Piper had thought that Jason would be glad to have his memories back. What would make him sad about it?

"Well, I…" he paused and looked down at Piper as if he wanted to measure whether he should tell her or not. Finally, he seemed to have decided and sighed. When he spoke again, pain was filling his voice.

"I guess you deserve to know. I planned to do it soon anyway…" he paused and Piper was a little confused what he was talking about. She stayed silent though and waited for him to continue. After all, it seemed to be difficult for him to do so.

"From the moment we returned to Camp, I began to remember the names of my friends. Some of them were named by Yuki as well….Dakota, Hazel, Bobby, Gwen, Reyna…They were really familiar. The name Reyna – ya know, the daughter of Mars- was the most familiar and I kept remembering things about her. Now I was confused with what I feel when I'm with you and…well, when you reacted like that to what I told you about Dakota…I didn't know whether or not I should tell you about Reyna at all. I-I'm sorry." The last words were really quiet and Piper's eyes had widened while he talked, she had even risked escaping his embrace just to look at him properly.

Oh no…her worst fear had become true. He really had a girlfriend back at Roman camp. Well, why not? He was after all the most attractive guy she knew, it was only logical. Jason had become really red in the face and when Piper didn't say anything, he apologized again and made assumptions to stand up, to walk away from her. But the brunette just smiled, even if it was a sad smile, and grabbed his hand.

"Wait. Hey, look at me, Sparky." She said, and when this nickname was said, Jason finally looked at her with confusion in his eyes. How was this a situation to call him that?

"I know it's not your fault so…don't feel that bad about it. We can't do much right now and have to wait until we arrive in San Francisco, right? Just know that I'm not mad at you or anything." She still smiled but now stood up as well, her hand kept holding his. Now Jason also managed a small smile, obviously really relieved to hear that.

"Wow, thanks. I'm glad. Now let's should we go back to the jet, the storm died down a little?" He said and leaded her back into the snow. Piper didn't care about the weather any more. He had finally said it. The daughter of Aphrodite had known that something was on his mind all the time. He kept avoiding her gaze, even if it was just a little but she noticed it. Now she finally knew what had bugged him so much. Of course, she was shocked to hear that and it hurt her heart. But still, it was also a lot better to know what he thought so she could relate, right?

They made it back to the campfire place at a stretch due to Jason wondrously finding their way even though they could barely see. But the full fireplace was now empty. The two demigods passed it and when they arrived at the plane, they heard noises coming from the left. Now it was Piper who dragged Jason along and they soon saw Leo, standing on a ladder and trying to fix the broken wing. He had summoned a gas burner from his pockets and seemed extremely concentrated. He was humming a merrily melody and even though the plane was broken, Leo seemed quite happy.

"Let's not disturb him and his love", Piper whispered in Jason's ear and giggled, Jason just grinned and nodded. The two passed him in silence and Jason knocked on the door of the plane. It was Grover who opened the door for them and closed it again when they were inside.

"Were the heck have you two been, huh?" Thalia asked, a smug grin on her face. The daughter of Zeus sat on the sofa next to Yuki and they seemed to have been caught in a conversation. Yuki was newly dressed in Thalia's clothes, which fitted her because the 21 year old was in the body of a 15 year old for eternity. She also had a knife at her side and Piper figured that it was one of Thalia's hunting knives. Grover the satyr placed himself next to the daughter of Zeus and began chewing on some soda cans from his backpack.

"Hope you didn't do anything inappropriate for your age." The huntress glared at Jason with fake stringency and the boy immediately blushed but tried to stay calm. Piper couldn't help but notice how Jason pulled her closer and had his hand around her waist. Gods, what did Thalia think of them?

"No, oh overprotective big sister, we didn't." Jason said and rolled his electric blue eyes which were just so similar to those of Thalia. He had sarcasm added to his voice and dropped on another canapé, Piper right next to him.

"Wait, you're also a daughter of Jupiter?" Yuki interrupted and raised her black eyebrows in confusion. Her icy blue eyes flew from Thalia to Jason, obviously checking for similarities.

"I thought you were serving Artemis?" she asked and was seemingly really confused.

"And what has the one thing to do with the other?" Thalia grinned and messed up her already messy black hair with her fingers.

"But yeah, I'm a daughter of Zeus. Jason is my little brother. I'm actually 21." She added the last when Yuki wanted to open her mouth again, even more confused. Of course, Thalia and Jason looked the same age, everybody who didn't know the story must be confused.

"Anyway, back to topic. Jason, whatever you do, you're far too young to-"

"Oh Thalia please, stop teasing them!" suddenly, Annabeth was there, standing next to one of the seats and grinned. Piper noticed again how tired she looked though the smile hid a lot of the shades under her eyes. The smile on her face seemed fake but it could be Piper's imagination again. Thalia just rolled her eyes and made a face at her best friend. Then she turned to Yuki as if this was a presentation.

"There we go, our number one wise girl, Annabeth Chase. Daughter of Athena, first strategist of Camp Half-Blood, architect of Olympus and girlfriend to mighty Perseus Jackson." She had obviously planned on now teasing Annabeth for interrupting her. The daughter of Athena even smiled, though her face fell a little at the nickname Thalia gave her. Piper wondered why. The blonde now sat down next to Piper on the couch but one could see that her mood had dropped a big amount. Yuki seemed impressed but then was obviously startled.

"Wait, his _girlfriend_? But how-" the Japanese girl began but was interrupted by Thalia, who obviously noticed that Annabeth wasn't in the best mood and just continued the "presentation".

"Next up would be Grover, our Satyr and number one goat boy. Lord of the Wild, heir to Pan, seeker who found me, Percy Jackson, Nico and Bianca di Angelo. He's Percy's best buddy. Plus, he's our secret entertainment." Grover raised a hand in greeting, then noticed what Thalia had just said and started to protest.

"Hey! I-" but again, Thalia just ignored him.

"Then we have Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, our little beauty queen. You better not call her that, she can get furious. See that look she's shooting me?" Thalia pointed at Piper, who actually was staring at Thalia fumingly for using Leo's nickname for her. Then the daughter of Zeus just blabbered on, not even a little impressed by her gaze. Piper guessed that if you knew Annabeth for longer than a few minutes, even Piper's best death glares were nothing in comparison.

"She's pretty new at Camp but permanently attached to my little brother, as you can see. As I heard, she's the best charm speaker we have and is the only Aphrodite sprout I know that's not all about being pretty." Now Thalia smiled at Piper and the brunette smiled back. Nice to know that the huntress actually liked her, even if she had a strange way to show it.

"Who's missing…well, you already know Jason…Oh, hot-head! Leo Valdez. Our pilot, you know. He's the son of Hephaestus and pretty …talented when it comes to machines or fire." She finally finished and leaned back again, arms behind her head and obviously pleased with what she had presented. Yuki was a little overwhelmed as it seemed but she had listened carefully and laughed with the others when the presented one was teased. Was it just Piper or did she seem enraged when Thalia talked about Leo? Why was that? Well, maybe just because she hated the heat, like her mother did. Didn't mean that she shared the same…friends her mother had, right?

They laughed and joked around so long Piper lost track of time. At some time though, Jason was the first to notice something.

"Hey guys…isn't it about time Leo finished repairing the plane?" he looked a little worried and Piper now also sat up, separating from Jason a bit.

"He's right. Leo was almost finished when we saw him but he's still not back…" she trailed off and suddenly, Annabeth's eyes went wide and she sat up straight. The whole time, she had been relatively quiet and thoughtful. But now, her face told them she just feared something.

"Oh gods! He was alone. Big mistake. Thalia, Grover. You come with me. Now. _How could I have been so stupid?_" She stood up and swooped her jerkin, glaring at them meaningfully. She had whispered to herself and seemed ready to smack her forehead. There was no option in her voice, no space to elude. Even Thalia listened to her immediately and jumped up even though she was normally the leading type.

"Yes, Ma'm." she said and put on her own jacket without complaining. Grover also lifted himself from their seat and put on his coat, readied his reed pipe.

"What're you doing?" asked Yuki with raised eyebrows. Annabeth turned to her, the expression of the daughter of Athena was completely serious.

"I'm taking our most powerful demigod in a fight and Grover, who has control over nature. In case something happens: You others stay here, Piper and Jason are with you, they're also both powerful." Piper heard the sound of a shield extracting and saw how Thalia was holding Aegis in her hand while she had also drawn her spear. The brunette assumed those were her most favorite weapons. Yuki just nodded and then they were suddenly outside, ready for the storm that had begun to become stronger.

A few minutes of silence passed. None of them was in the mood for jokes any more. Piper snuggled herself to Jason's chest and stared at the door with tension in her muscles. If Leo was in danger…could she bear that they had seen him and didn't give him company out there while he was alone? Maybe it was her fault….no, this was the wrong way to think. There was no way Leo would be hurt or kidnapped, right? He was also a strong demigod after all. But when the doors of the plane opened again and the first one to enter was not Leo but Annabeth and her face was stern and distant, Piper couldn't help but hide her face in Jason's shirt. She heard Jason's voice, directed at his sister, concern swinging in it. Of course, Leo was his best friend after all.

"How is it?" he asked. A sound was heard and Piper sensed how Jason took in a shocking deep breath.

"Oh no.." he whispered so quietly only Piper could hear him.

"That's all we found." Oh gods, the daughter of Aphrodite didn't even want to look what was dropped on the desk by Thalia now. It made a heavy sound and Piper already guessed what it was. She lifted her face and stared at the object on the table in horror.

In the middle of the wooden table between two canapés, there was Leo's tool belt, cut open at one side with big splashes of red liquid on it.

* * *

_Dudun. Here it is. The chapter. And hopefully the tension. Hope you enjoyed it and now ask yourself what the hell happened to Leo. Do you? What do you think about the other scene? Am I bad at romance? I am, right? D: I liked Thalia's introduction thing. Did you too?  
_

**Please tell me what you think and hope you didn't give me up yet :)**


	40. Calamitous Strawberry

_November 24th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello there guys and girls :)_

_It's cool to submit without beta but otherwise I don't know if the mistakes I do bother you or not. But hey, it's Thanksgiving today (it is, right? We don't celebrate that here) so I thought there'll be a chapter for you to that occasion. It's not very long and not with much tension or something but I still had fun writing it because it shows the friendship between Thalia, Grover and Annabeth and I think I missed that a little up until now because the "new" guys -meaning Jason, Leo and Piper. And Yuki- are kinda in the way of it. Not that I don't like them, I love them but still, the cool guys from the first book need more attention. Just like how I started to squeal every time Percy did some action in the actual "Son of Neptune" xD. That part with "You speak horse?" was SO freaking cool. Or "I fell higher from the St. Louis arch" "You did WHAT?". Okay, I'll stop now. But hey, that wasn't much of a spoiler to anyone who hasn't read it. I hope...(and it was out of memory so no correcting xD). Anyway! To the chapter...  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XL**_

**Annabeth**

Her mind was racing. This day couldn't possibly become any worse than it already was. Fighting a monster army and escaping with their hostage by a hairbreadth, finding out that said hostage was a daughter of Kione, discovering that a Venus child fell for Percy and now, their _pilot_ of all people decided to go missing. At this very moment, she was walking through a snowstorm, her dagger in hand and two old friends at her side. It was so eerily dark that Annabeth wasn't sure if it was natural or if something caused them extra darkness next to the snowstorm. But despite all they tried, the two demigods and the satyr didn't find a single soul out there. She could punch herself, stab her own dagger in her leg just to let her feel how very stupid she was. Hadn't it been her who separated the group last time in Springfield so Leo was save and none of them went alone? And now she just proved her theories to be exactly right! It wasn't like Leo was weak, no way. But he was the pilot and the key to their success, one of the seven. And since Piper was kinda glued to Jason's side, Leo was the one she was worried about the most. Despite Percy of course but that was a different topic.

"Styx! Styx, Styx, Styx! He was to be somewhere around here.." the daughter of Athena stomped around the snow so hard she was afraid someone beside her friends could hear it in this snow blizzard. She looked around, the blonde hair under her bonnet swirling around in the strong wind. But her grey eyes didn't see anyone and that just frustrated her more.

"Gods, I'm so stupid! This is all my fault, I should've seen it coming. Then why the Hades didn't I do something?" she almost screamed and her hands flew up to her head, clutching her bonnet as if she wanted to squeeze her own brain.

"Annabeth, calm down, this isn't just your-"

"No, Thalia, I'm not _calming down_! Don't you see what's going on? It's our first day at this quest and we're already about to fail! We fell for a trap, gained a new so called "friend", which the prophecy warned us about and our pilot is missing without a trace! Can you steer a plane? Well, I don't suppose you do! This mission is a presupposition for this entire war, how are we supposed to get the Romans to trust us if we don't even manage to get there? How are we supposed to get Percy back? I wish he was here, he would-" she had snapped this time, screaming at Thalia. But Thalia wasn't the person to just back down and let herself be yelled on. Grover on the other side watched them with a strange expression between worry and fear, looking around them as if he expected monsters to attack any moment. Thalia now snapped back, obviously also petulant.

"Percy can't fly either, Annabeth." She stated plainly and turned away from her friend, arms crossed in front of her chest. But that just made Annabeth's rage worse.

"I know that! Hades, he even hates flying! But he's a good leader-"

"I'm also not that bad. Jason's also pretty decent-"

"I know! But Percy always…he was always keeping my hopes up, he always had a plan-"

"You said yourself his plans are stupid."

"Yeah, they are! But they worked! And at least he _had_ one. My head is so empty and messed up right now I can't even come up with a proper plan for a building. It's like someone created a complete mess in there. I can't concentrate, I can't sleep and if I do, I just keep seeing the same things all over again…" she trailed off and suddenly dropped down on a stone, her face in her hands. She wasn't crying, no. But she had to admit that she'd like to. There was just the problem that in this storm, her tears would probably freeze before they could fall. Seeing her break down probably calmed Thalia's mood down. So the daughter of Zeus sighed now and poked her spear in the snow beside her. There was a short silence before she spoke again, her voice more comforting this time.

"Annabeth, please. We all miss him. Let me finally admit it, I also do. My puny little cousin was someone to mess with and I see how you suffer. And you know I hate seeing my friends suffer…" she stated softly, even if it was a little more serious at the end. Now Grover seemed to finally manage to join in the conversation. He caught himself and stowed his reed pipe in his jeans he was wearing to appear human.

"Yeah, we all miss him, Annabeth. But we can make it without him just this once, because it is to get him back. Remember when you went missing that one winter?" Annabeth nodded slowly and looked up at Grover, somehow curious what he wanted to say. She had heard several things about what happened this winter since it was the only adventure she hadn't been joining.

"Even then, Percy was out of worry for you. Just like you do now, he wouldn't stop thinking or dreaming about what could happen to you and he thought of it as his fault entirely. Thalia didn't make it any better." He glared at the daughter of Zeus, who just pressed her lips together and frowned.

"Yeah, I…pretty much told him it was all his fault. We…kinda fought a lot." Grover gave a dry laugh at that comment.

"Now you're understating things. You almost killed each other at capture the flag." Grover grinned and now looked back at Annabeth to continue.

"The point is, Percy didn't give up. Even when we were stranded somewhere in the desert or attacked by a giant boar or when Bianca died or-"

"Goat boy, she gets it." Thalia interrupted, rolling her blue eyes. Annabeth had to smirk at that and shook her head at the argument her two friends had. Grover now sighed and continued.

"Yeah, sorry. Anyway, Annabeth. I wanted to say that seeing you like this isn't easy for either of us. And Percy wouldn't want you to be down like that, you said yourself that he always kept your hopes up. I don't know what exactly is on your mind but I get the feeling it's a little more than just the prophecy and that Venus child. What is it, can't you tell us?" he asked and sat down beside her, his eyebrows raised in concern and question. Annabeth had to think about it. She could tell them…but they'd just worry even more. It wasn't fair to tell them that their mission would be useless, they would run right into a trap and Percy would…die. No, she couldn't tell them about it. So she dropped her gaze again and closed her eyes in agony.

"No, I can't…I'm so sorry but I can't tell you about it. Please, let's just…search for Leo, alright?" she looked up, stepped away from the stone and from her friends. They had almost reached the edge of a little forest and suddenly, before any of her friends could argue with her, her eyes widened.

"Oh no…" she whispered and kneeled down to lift an object from the floor. It was Leo's tool belt and there were splashes of blood on it as well as on the floor next to it. This wasn't good…If he didn't have his tool belt, how was he supposed to get out of there? As Annabeth was told, this was his only "weapon" he had. Thalia and Grover stepped up behind her and they seemed just as shocked. Finally, Annabeth turned around and her gaze was somehow sad and desperate again. Then she stoked aside some branches of the bush and her grey eyes widened.

"A track…there're footprints. Not seriously…this is too easy." She stared at the trace in the snow where obviously, a big shoe had stepped into the fresh snow and left a track. Thalia behind her grinned.

"Well now, then let's track down the monster. Grover, a track-"

"No. Thalia, we can't do that with just us three. Did you forget what monsters Gaia may be able to summon? Don't you think we should take them on with full force if we volunteer to fall into that obvious trap?" Annabeth now stood up and began to smile, a grim and determined look on her face.

"Let's go get the others. Then we'll be working on a strategy." She concluded and her two friends just nodded in agreement. When returning to their plane, Annabeth was lost in thought again. Why hadn't she done anything sooner? This was turning out to be a disaster. They couldn't lose Leo here, they needed him! Hades, they had to prevent that!

When they reached the jet and showed the belt to the others, their reactions were just as Annabeth had awaited. Piper and Jason were completely jolted and she wasn't able to really read Yuki's expression. Must be a typical sign of the Roman soldier. They were able to hide their expressions and feelings pretty well. But she agreed to help them search. At least something.

Her grey eyes couldn't help but stare into space. With the words Thalia and Grover had told her, she thought about the hours she had spent holding the sky. The weight had crashed her almost to death and all she could think about was how she couldn't believe she had trusted Luke. But most of all, she had believed that Percy would search for her. He had screamed her name when she fell off that cliff, the daughter of Athena had heard it. The exasperation in his voice had been so clear you could almost grab it. From that moment on, no, earlier, when he saved her from the sirens, she was sure the green eyed idiot was always there to help her. Yes, he wasn't here now but this mission was supposed to save him, to get him back to her. Just like Annabeth had known he'd come for her that winter, the teenager now knew that if Percy still remembered her, he'd hope for that too. So she took a deep breath and straighten her back, looking at the others.

"We'll definitely hunt down that monster." She finally said as they sat in a circle around the table. Looking around for a moment, she thought about the combination possibilities.

"That's where we found the belt." The daughter of Athena pulled out a paper from her backpack, placed it on the table and started to draw a quick sketch of the plane. Then she sketched a few trees, pointed at them.

"The storm has turned pretty heavy so we could have problems seeing properly. Yuki, are you able to calm the storm down?" she asked directly at Yuki who seemed a little shocked to be asked. But she nodded slowly, seemed to think about it.

"I guess…I never tried it but I should be able to.." she said, smiling at Annabeth. Alright, that was good. She had told Grover and Thalia that she wasn't able to really think but this didn't count for real thinking in her opinion. Asking a daughter of Kione to calm down the snow storm. Everybody would've had that idea.

"Piper. Does this plane have some kind of security lock? I would normally leave a guard but I guess we need all force we have against whoever was clever enough to fool us. It's most possibly a trap so we have to make sure nobody discovers our Jet. Yuki and Grover, you two take care of that." The satyr nodded and Yuki gave her answer by smiling at the daughter of Athena. Piper seemed to think about it before answering.

"I guess…yeah, Dad showed me something like that once. I'll go press the button in the cockpit."

So she stood up and walked away from them to activate the security system. Annabeth then waited until Jason and Piper had dressed themselves for the storm and readied their weapons. While she did so, she walked over to Thalia and whispered in her ear.

"I want you to have an eye on Yuki, okay? If she does something strange, please tell me about it. I'll watch out too but four eyes are better than two." She said and Thalia raised an eyebrow, answering just as quiet.

"You don't trust her?" she asked.

"Not really. Remember the prophecy? I don't think we'll run over many other "friends" who could betray us. You seriously think one of the Roman demigods or Jason would plan a plot against us?"

"No, you have a point there. I also thought about the prophecy when we met her…I'll have an eye on her." Annabeth nodded thankfully and walked away. They all walked outside and as soon as the door was shut, Grover began playing his flute. Roots and branches shot out from the ground or from nearby trees and started surrounding the plane while Yuki raised her arms and concentrated. It was as if the storm became bigger around the plane and soon, snow covered the summoned branches and the jet looked like some kind of strangely formed forest. A satisfying hiding place, it added into nature perfectly. That act dragged some big amount of strength out of Yuki and Grover but they were both still fit enough to keep going. When everything was finally set up, the group began walking towards the spot where they found Leo's belt. Suddenly, Piper caught up to Annabeth who was walking in the front and tipped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Annabeth? I wanted to tell you something…" she paused and looked back at Jason, who now walked behind them next to his sister and with his hands ready at his sword.

"When I searched for Jason after leaving you at the fire, I saw someone. It was just silhouette and I couldn't make it out completely but I thought it might be important. Jason said we were alone around here but it doesn't seem like it, right?" Annabeth kept searching the ground for tracks but nodded.

"It's good you're telling me that. Was probably the monster you saw. Gods, I hope it's not a Cyclopes again." She sighed and searched around in the bushes they had found the tool belt in to find that footprint again. Piper just nodded and Jason, who had listened to their conversation also nodded, his face grim. Oh yeah, none of them wanted to have the trouble of a Cyclopes that didn't crumble to dust…

"Here it is. Alright, that'll be perfect for a tracking song." She said when she found the big spot of pressed snow. It was obvious someone came through here and that someone had pretty big feet.

"You can do something like that?" Jason asked, obviously astonished. But Annabeth just shook her head. She also didn't ask how he knew about tracking songs. The Romans probably gave him good theory knowledge, even if it was coming back slowly.

"No, I can't. But Artemis' hunters and satyrs are pretty good at tracking, especially our little lord of the wild." She grinned and stood up again, motioning towards the satyr in their little group. Grover nodded, pulled out his pipe and an acorn from his pocket, pressed it in the snow in the middle of the footprint and began playing. It was a much more complicated melody than Annabeth had awaited. Maybe Grover had really learned much in the past months he had travelled. The acorn began dancing and rolled around in the footprint. Then, two little sprouts broke out of it, like little legs. It lifted itself from the floor and started to walk away from them. Grover kept playing but nodded after the acorn so they would follow it. Annabeth followed without further comment and even though Piper, Jason and Yuki seemed astonished, they also walked after them.

They made a long way through the forest into the north but never lost sight of the plane. Maybe the monster had been careful to watch if Leo was already missed by his group. Finally, a cave came in sight. Annabeth nodded grimly. Yeah, caves were often the home for monsters but mainly for Cyclopes.

"We all have to stay by each other's side. Secret code to ask for is: Seaweed. Understood? When you are called and only hear a voice, ask for the code. If you meet after being separated, ask for the code. Stop laughing, Thalia." She glared at her friend, who had begun to start suppressing a really load laugh when Annabeth said the word "seaweed". Yeah, she knew why Thalia reacted that way. After all, it was in fact part of her nickname for Percy that had inspired her for it. Still, despite her flushing cheeks, she now pulled out her dagger and everyone else also drew their weapons.

"Alright, follow me and Thalia. We'll keep walking near the walls." She whispered when they stepped closer to the cave. The storm had begun to dim down big time but it was still completely dark. In the next moment, they all entered the cave and passed a single white blooming strawberry plant growing in the entrance…

* * *

_Sooo...it's the same cave. Jason and Piper just sat there where the monster is now hiding. Dudun. Yeah, what do you think about the dialogue above? I guess they already told Annabeth all about what happened that winter but probably tried to leave out how hard Thalia and Percy fought about who's fault it was. And how Percy was all desperate and even talked to Aphrodite...well yeah, you know the story._

**Tell me what you think, pretty please! And enjoy your thanksgiving :)**


	41. Crestfallen Daughter of Love

_November 30th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Why hello there, loyal readers! :)_

_I assume you didn't realize that I posted another chapter? I deleted the little pause thing I had done and instead posted something. Guess nobody noticed XD At least I hope so because I got like...1 review? Are you giving up on me? D': That makes me sad, guys! I thought you liked the story, so many of you said so D8. I sad here all depressed, thinking nobody wants to read any more :/. Makes me really sad, you know? So please at least show me that you're reading it, short comments are okay, I just want to know that you guys are still alive as well, I did my part with coming back ;P_

_About the chapter... I think you're going to like it. Especially the end. And hey, it's finally Roman again ^^. Percy's there. Hope that's enough for you to get your hopes up and keep on reading :3  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

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_**Chapter XLI**_

**Percy**

"PERCY! You're awake!" Dakota sounded so relieved, as if the weight of the sky was lifted from her shoulders. Somehow, he got the feeling that he knew what that felt like. But he didn't have the time to think about it, because his head was giving him the creeps again. He just had the strangest dream, and was not even sure if it was one of his reality-like dreams, or if it was pure nonsense he had made up. His green eyes were a little dim, and he was confused about where he was and how he got there.

The last thing he recalled was that he blacked out when falling into the sea, then something seemed to drive him up, lift him in the air, water swirled around, dogs whimpered and then he had collapsed again. What the heck had happened? But before he could ask, Gwen opened her mouth. He hadn't even noticed her there. Dakota had pretty much drawn in all of his attention because she was far too close now, and couldn't decide whether to kiss or to hug him. He wasn't really thrilled by either.

"You're in the infirmary, Percy. The hellhound that bit you this morning had poison on his teeth."

"Poison?" he asked, still confused. But he let Dakota help him to sit up and put a cushion behind his back. The black haired boy seemed to have difficulty with sitting, but did it anyway. Looking down at himself, he noticed the bandages on his upper chest, and was obviously stunned.

"But wasn't my skin… this is strange…" he stated and looked up at the two girls quizzically. They both shrugged, obviously just as perplexed as he was.

"We don't know why this could work… maybe you're just not immune to poison. That's my best assumption." Gwen stated and leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. She seemed to feel a lot better, now that he was awake. Percy nodded slowly, but also sank back into his cushion, sighing.

"That's just my luck, huh? There I thought I could manage something, and I just collapse. That must've looked so lame." He laughed dryly and shook his head, whipping his messy and slightly wet hair out of his green eyes.

"No! No, you were incredible! Don't you remember? You slew the hellhounds with water from the sea, rose on it from down there, and just dispatched them in the blink of an eye!" Dakota gestured around as if she tried to imitate what he did, but Percy just shook his head, gazing at her as if she was nuts.

"No, I don't… quite remember. Just that I was angry and the water listened to me…" he murmured, his thoughts wandering off. Yeah, it had been a strange feeling. He wondered how that came… Gwen interrupted his thoughts, her voice was something between worried and serious. Man, he was glad those two weren't thinking of him as an enemy, like the others.

"Percy, you'll have to stay here for a while. It's far past noon already, but your lessons for today are all canceled anyway. The poison was really dangerous, and I guess before tomorrow there's going to be no training for you at all. Lupa doesn't know of it yet-"

Of course, Lupa…why didn't he think of it sooner? She was the answer to his questions. She _had_ the answers, he just knew she had. It was a mystery to him why he had acted like that and why the water had listened to him so freely. The black haired boy didn't even listen to what Gwen was saying further, her voice was far in the back. Lupa knew much about him… more than she admitted. It was just a slim chance, but maybe if he just tried it with the bit of played discipline he already learned…

"I need to go see Lupa." Percy suddenly interrupted Gwen and sat up a little more straight. He pressed his hands to the bed and tried to lift himself up, moved his legs from under the blanket. But suddenly, he had to wince and found himself grabbing his shoulder in pain, falling back into the cushion.

"Percy, what are you doing? You can't just go talk to Lupa like that, she'll kill you!" Dakota seemed to be in panic and pressed him back to bed, which wasn't really necessary because he had dropped back by himself. The pain in his neck, shoulder and chest was really intense, and he couldn't even complain fully because he needed to think and ignore the pain.

"What? Why'd she do _that_?" he asked, pressed the question through his teeth. It was Gwen who answered, her eyebrows raised and she had already bowed forward, chanting something in that ancient language again. With shock, Percy noticed that he could understand what she was saying.

"_Oh Apollo, my father and god of the sun, give me the ability to heal, power drawn from the sun, energy of the light…" _she whispered and then looked back up at him, her hands glowing with a dim green light. Somehow, Percy began to feel a lot better. Amazing. But what was that language just now? Percy looked at her hands and noticed that the burnings from yesterday had vanished. Strange… but his thoughts were interrupted when Gwen started explaining.

"Because you're weak right now, Percy. Lupa despises weakness, she teaches us to hide it. She says monsters can sense it, and it would kill us in a fight with them. Trust me, just stay here, please. I know you're stubborn, but could you just wait out the cure? For me?"

"And me?" Dakota added, her blue eyes persuading Percy with the best pleading gaze she could manage. But the daughter of Venus didn't even need her aura of persuasion to vow Percy. The boy just sighed and dropped back into the cushion.

"Fine." He concluded and seemed offended. He sighed again and looked around the room. When he reached his left, he suddenly saw that Dakota was holding his necklace. His eyes widened, his cheeks turned pink and he grabbed it out of her hands without a comment. He wanted to attach it to his neck when he noticed that the leather band was broken.

"What… oh no, when did this happen?" he whispered and stared at the torn black leather.

"It was torn apart in the first fight with the hellhounds. I'm sorry, Percy. Is this important to you or something? Where did you get it?" Dakota asked and lay a hand on top of his. Percy didn't even complain. He just shook his head and kept staring at the necklace.

"Yeah, I… I wore it when I awoke at the wolf house. These beads mean something… I just don't know what yet…" he trailed off and stroked over all of them, especially the crystal in the middle. He thoughts about that dream he had. _Annabeth__… _he thought his gaze sad. _I wish I could remember more of you somehow._

"What do the names on the fourth one mean?" Dakota asked and pointed at the black bead at the end. Percy looked at it and seemed to sink into the picture deeper and deeper, his green eyes glaring as if he was far away, his thoughts wandering…

"Those are names of the people who died in the battle of Manhattan." He suddenly said out loud without even noticing. Dakota and Gwen stared at him as if he just announced he'd eaten a squirrel.

"_What_ battle?" Dakota asked, pressing Percy's hand a little tighter. But Percy was already out of his trance and shook his head. His forehead had begun hurting really bad, throbbing like the moment he had woken up at the wolf house. The builders were there again. Great.

"I- what'd I say? Sorry, my head… really hurts. Would you mind if I take a little nap?" he held his forehead and sighed, carefully laying down in the bed again so that his throat wouldn't hurt. The two girls just nodded and looked at each other in confusion. They were quiet as Percy just fell into some kind of coma, because sleep found him faster than it probably ever did, his head still full of hammering builders…

* * *

_[__**A/N**__: slight POV change here__. ]_

Dakota and Gwen waited until Percy was completely asleep. That wasn't very difficult, because he actually began to snore pretty soon.

"So… he really had been in New York, I guess…" Dakota said slowly, stroking some hair out of Percy's eyes. Gwen nodded slowly and stared at the boy.

"Unbelievable. I bet he's been through much if he actually managed to survive there. Maybe that's why he's that strong?" she asked, more in a rhetorical way than as a real question. Dakota again just shrugged and finally, after a few minutes of silence, she sighed.

"But I'm glad he's alright. At least we got him to stay here. Reyna's kinda right, he_ is_ pretty stubborn." She smiled at that comment and giggled, Gwen joined in. Suddenly, between them, Percy began to mumble something. Dakota looked at him with a soft gaze and smiled.

"Aww, he's dreaming. How sweet." She said and Gwen raised an eyebrow because to her, that comment sounded as if she was talking about a baby rather than Percy.

"Annabeth…" Percy suddenly became loader, grabbing his cushion and smiling dumbly. Gwen raised her eyebrows and wanted to giggle again, make fun of him. But when she looked up at Dakota, her face fell. The daughter of Venus sat there, her muscles and face stiff as she stared at Percy. There was no smile on her face any more. The longing that Percy just had in his voice when he had said that name… it was just impossible to miss. Suddenly, Dakota rose from her chair and looked away from Percy. Gwen couldn't tell how her face looked like, but she assumed she was close to crying. Her voice also sounded really shaky.

"I… I'm going to tell Reyna he was awake." She said, and then marched out of the tent without another comment.

* * *

_Dudun. Dakota got POWnd (do you write it like that? Dunno). But don't you think this is the end of the story between her and Percy.. ;P Btw sorry about the POV change at the end but that wouldn't have made a chapter on its own so I had to do it somehow_

**Hope you liked it, PLEASE tell me what you think about it! :)**


	42. Fatal Flaws

_December 8th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _Mcat9905_**  
**

**A/N:** _Hello again, loyal readers! :)_

_Hope you had a nice start into christmas time :) I did, even though university is still a little stressy. But since the holidays are closing in slowly, we get less big projects or maybe I just imagine it that way because I'm getting used to it. Either way I still didn't get any news from my betas so I'll just keep submitting the stuff I already have and try to keep it going as steadily as I can manage :)_

_It's another Roman chapter, Percy's POV and it has a giant dream sequence with stuff you already know. Sorry about that but I have fun writing Percy from a POV were he doesn't remember his own past life and sees it in his dreams. It's somehow funny and sad at the same time. _

_About Dakota: She's not giving up just like that. You'll see what happens ;P  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XLII**_

**Percy**

_For the third time now, Percy dreamed of the girl named Annabeth. His last dream –when he was poisoned- had been nothing but formless faces that didn't even make sense and sentences that made him wonder if his past life might have been some crazy ride down a rollercoaster full of meaningless stuff. He heard things like "He likes sheep", "the small of my back" and "You're scared of bunnies?". Stuff like that. Really, it didn't make any sense at all. But this dream…it was far better…and longer. _

_He was standing on a terrace out of wood, four other people were there. The blonde girl, her curls pulled up in a messy ponytail, a boy with brown, curly hair and acne, an older guy in a Hawaii shirt with leopard pattern and a middle aged man with brown hair and a beard who was sitting in a wheelchair. Percy seemed to have appeared next to his dream self in the middle of a conversation and he was looking at the girl as if they just met. Annabeth, who was just introduced, glared at him like she didn't like him personally and thought of him as simply something interesting to study. He again noticed how her grey eyes seemed so intelligent. The next moment, he noticed that they were both extremely young, far younger than in his last dream. His dream self looked around twelve years old, he was slim and sloppy, his hair was completely black and that grey streak was missing. Same went for Annabeth's hair. It was flawless, and she also looked much less mature. The other three people sat at a desk and the boy with curly hair seemed to observe his dream self carefully, almost worried while Annabeth leaned at the veranda. _

"_You drool when you sleep" Annabeth stated, her tone really cold. His dream self blinked rapidly, as if he had expected something else, something cooler, and then stuttered on in a conversation he started with the man in the wheelchair while the blonde turned away and ran down the hill without another comment. _

_Suddenly, before he could further study the other faces, this scene disappeared again. The colors swirled around in a crazy whirlpool and when they stood still again, he was at some kind of Party. No, really. Everything was full of people and he could see marble buildings in the distance and also close to him. There were crazy creatures and all kinds of men and women all around him. He wanted to study them closer, just when a woman appeared in front of him and took away his breath, drew all of his concentration on her. She had beautiful, black hair and her eyes were so grey he could swear the color was named after them. Intelligence spewed out of them like waterfalls and even if she was wearing rather casual clothes, she seemed to glow. For a short moment, he thought it'd be Annabeth, but he was wrong. This woman was not human at all. She was a goddess. And just when the word popped into his mind, his dream self spoke it out: _

"_Athena." His voice was resentful and he kinda glared at the goddess of wisdom. Said goddess just smiled dryly._

"_Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous." She said, her glare was deadly serious. Percy asked himself what she meant and in which way he was dangerous to someone like her. After all, she made the impression as if nothing in the world would ever surprise her._

"_You never take risks?" his dream self asked and raised an eyebrow. Athena nodded._

"_I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet…your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself." That didn't sound good. Fatal flaw? Something seemed to stir in his mind at those words. But he couldn't place it so he just kept listening to the conversation. Something told him that this scene was extremely important to him and his actions before he lost his memory. The goddess now looked at him with pity because his dream self seemed to turn unsure of something, his face somehow afraid._

"_Kronos_ _knows your fatal flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now my daughter, Annabeth." She paused. Percy made wide eyes. Wow, that was some decent information. So he had a best friend that was named Grover. That rang a bell. His mother was still alive somewhere and an image of a woman with warm brown hair popped into his mind. Was she worried about him right now? He had an enemy that was named Kronos and that enemy was smart. Golden eyes appeared in his memory and a guy with blonde hair that had reminded him of Bobby. But the image disappeared as Athena continued. _

"_In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos's traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous." First: What prophecy? Another one of those things. Gwen had recited one, but Percy got the feeling that Athena was talking about another one, one he'd been part of as well. Second: What the heck was wrong with being loyal? His dream self seemed to think the same way because he balled his fists and his green eyes glared at the goddess. _

"_That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends-"_

"_The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation. Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom…that is very hard indeed." She concluded and looked at Percy, who was interrupted and now at a lack of words, obviously. Because his dream self was opening his mouth and then closing it again. Athena seemed satisfied, because she just continued. _

"_I hope the Council's decisions prove wise. But I will be watching, Percy Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver your loyalties…" the goddess glared at him and even though it was just a dream and Percy knew that, the glare was giving him the creeps. He knew that if Athena hated you, you had nothing to be happy about any more. _

"_Percy!" a voice interrupted his thoughts and it was so familiar he had really hoped that it would appear again. It was Annabeth, who was fighting her way through the crowd to reach him. She noticed Athena and stopped in her track, obviously astonished. _

"_Oh...Mom." she said. The goddess still looked at Percy, shot a short glance at her daughter and then turned. _

"_I will leave you for now." She said and the crowd before her divided to let her pass. Percy stared after her but was soon interrupted by Annabeth, who now stepped closer. Thinking back that he had really mistaken Athena for her own daughter for a moment made him recoil. Annabeth was far better and most of all nicer…_

"_Was she giving you a hard time?" the blonde asked, her eyebrows raised because she seemed to guess that her mother didn't want to talk about how nice the party was. _

"_No. It's fine." His dream self lied. He didn't want to make her worry, that was so obvious Percy saw it within a second. Annabeth seemed to notice too but didn't ask any further. She just reached up and stroked through the grey streak in his hair. Percy guessed they should both be around 14 here, and his dream self shot Annabeth a gaze like he wanted to say so many things but stopped himself because of what her mother said. The daughter of Athena also seemed different and looked at him in a completely other way. In the last dream sequence, she had just studied him but now when she looked at him, her grey eyes were full of many other things, like concern or thankfulness maybe. _

"_So" Annabeth interrupted his thoughts and also those of his dream self. _

"_What did you want to tell me earlier?" she asked, her grey eyes met his green ones and Percy seemed to think what to say because what he wanted to tell her before was not an option any more. _

"_I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And…I think I owe you a dance." He finally stuttered and managed a shy smile. On Annabeth's face also slowly crept a smile and she nodded. _

"_All right, Seaweed Brain." Again, that nickname. It was an insult and yet again, he felt familiar with it, even liked it. His dream self smiled again and took her hand with a hopeful glance as they danced away to the music that sounded so joyfully through the high and royal marble buildings behind them…_

* * *

His green eyes flew open. Percy gasped and wanted to sit up. Again, he fell back because he had totally forgotten that he had that wound on the shoulder and throat. He winced and then sighed, annoyed by his own weakness. He sat himself up, this time more careful and looked around him. There was nobody standing at his bed side anymore and he didn't know if he should be glad or sad about that. Gwen was a few beds away, tending a boy at the age of maybe eight who had a wound on his leg and had started to cry.

"It's going to be alright, Daniel. Calm down, will you?" her voice was soft and caring even though the little boy didn't seem to agree that everything would be alright. The healer had begun that chanting in an ancient language again and Percy could swear he understood the words this time as well. But he just shook his head. That wasn't possible, he didn't remember being able to speak any foreign language. But then again, what did he remember? Not that much to be exact. His hand flew up to his head and his fingers started to tingle around the grey streak he had in there.

"Ah, I always wanted to ask you about that one." A voice sounded and let Percy wince. He looked up and saw Reyna standing at the food of his bed. She was smiling –oddly enough- and now sat down beside him, her brown eyebrows raised. Was it just him or was she looking at him far friendlier?

"I was informed you were awake, how're you feeling?" she asked and pointed at his bandaged shoulder and neck. The brunette sat on the side of the bed where the nightstand was and Percy had to swallow hard. Maybe it was best she didn't see the necklace. Then again, he thought of an answer for her question. Should he tell her about Annabeth? Maybe not everything he knew…but there was a possibility the daughter of Mars could have a solution for him. But no, not really…after all, she hated him, right? Finally, he just sighed and decided against it.

"Nah, I'm fine…though moving around is a bit of a hassle. And I don't know exactly where that streak came from, really. I was wondering that too.." he trailed off to make the impression of thoughtfulness. Then the green eyed demigod looked up again and raised an eyebrow.

"I also have a question." He said and now pointed at Gwen, who was still struggling with the little boy named Daniel.

"What is that language she's chanting when she heals? That's not Latin, right?" he looked back at Reyna and tilted his head a little. The daughter of Mars shook her head and studied Percy for a moment. Then she opened her mouth again.

"I think her healing songs are in Greek. She once told me about it…the language the chanting has to be in is always from the country her father was seated before the aspect he has now. Therefore, she now chants in Greek and the Greeks must've chanted in an even older language. I don't quite understand why but that's how she explained it to me." She curled her lips and put a finger on her chin. Percy's muscles stiffened. Greek? There it was again. Reyna seemed sour about it, didn't like the language and maybe not even the people but he himself…he felt a connection. Was it really that he was an enemy of this Castra, that he belonged elsewhere? But why the heck did he end up here then? The brunette next to him dragged him out of her thoughts.

"Where's Dakota by the way? This morning she told me she'd stay by your side the whole day and now she's vanished after telling me you're awake…" Percy just shrugged at that question.

"I have no clue. I just awoke a few seconds before you came in…" he looked around as if he was awaiting Dakota to pop up next to him any minute. But there was no other daughter of Venus here and this one neither. Instead, Gwen showed at the foot of his bed, a healing box jammed between her arm and her torso and she had tilted her head.

"I think she's a little…disappointed." Gwen said and now sat down on the other side of Percy.

"When you were sleeping, you murmured something that sounded like 'Annabeth'. I guess she thinks you were dreaming of another girl and didn't care about her." Gwen looked at him quizzically as if she wanted to know if that was true. Suddenly, Percy felt blood rush to his face. He wanted to sink inside of his mattress at this instant. Gods no! That hadn't been his intention. And that Gwen heard it as well didn't make it any better…

"What? You dreamed? Why didn't you tell us anything?" Reyna suddenly sounded and almost stood up from her chair. Okay, now Percy was confused.

"Why do you want to talk about what I'm dreaming of?" he asked and stared at Reyna as if she was an alien. But the demigoddess just shook her head and raised a finger.

"You don't understand. Demigod dreams are often an exact picture of our past or the present from somewhere we've never been. We're different from mortals in that way. So when you dream something, it's most likely from your past, right? And since you don't remember anything, that's really important!" she said and after she had closed her eyes to explain, she now looked back at him. It was silent for a short period, then Percy began to laugh out loud all of a sudden. He couldn't stop. Her face right now had been just too priceless and what she said…

"What?" Reyna snapped, her face turning slightly red.

"You just sounded like Hazel." He explained and rubbed a tear from his eye, holding his stomach while laughing. He didn't notice until now but this was pretty much the first time he had really, honestly laughed since coming here. Everybody was so serious he didn't even feel like it. But Reyna, the girl that beat up people and had pointed her sword at him because of some little nuisance just recited something that sounded like part of a dictionary. Priceless. Reyna herself turned even redder and stared at Percy in anger. But somehow, he couldn't take her serious because the small trace of a smile lit up around her lips. Gwen had also started to giggle, obviously incited by Percy's laughter. The demigod didn't notice how the entire infirmary was staring at them and he didn't even care anymore. Everybody stared at him, it didn't even matter what he did so why bother?

"Shut up, Jackson, that wasn't funny!" Reyna pressed through her teeth. When Percy didn't stop to grin, she decided to change her strategy. She grinned herself and leaned forward, really close to his face all of a sudden.

"So…who's Annabeth?" she asked and Percy really stopped laughing because now, she was really far too close. They all didn't notice how Bobby entered the building at that instant, saw them, and froze right on the spot. Percy now just backed away from the daughter of Mars and swallowed hard.

"She's one of the persons that appeared in my dreams and also when Gwen did that memory thing. She has blonde curly hair, grey eyes and seems really intelligent. Just now, I saw us both when we were about twelve so I guess we knew each other for a pretty long time…" he trailed off and thoughts about if he should tell them more or not swirled in his head. Finally, he decided to go a little further.

"I also saw her mother, Athena, in one of my dreams. She was warning my 14 year old self about something, a prophecy was mentioned and my fatal flaw…" He felt the eyes of both girls on him and suddenly noticed Bobby in the entrance. The green eyed demigod raised his eyebrows when Bobby turned around after another death stare and left the infirmary again. Reyna and Gwen didn't seem to notice him but Reyna was deep in thought anyway.

"So somebody you knew from your previous life. Her mother is Minerva so she's also a demigod. How could you meet the goddess, the gods hardly ever show themselves to us, most of all not other gods than our parents! I met my father only once in my entire life. And she was talking about the prophecy to you? Did she mean _the_ prophecy?" Reyna said and blinked at him. She didn't react at all to the 'fatal flaw' thing although Percy had hoped for it. Gwen also didn't react so he guessed that they both didn't know what it was. And he wasn't going to fall so low and ask Hazel about it. No, he better just forgot about it or kept it for later. But Reyna's words just confused him further.

"What do you mean, _the_ prophecy?" he asked and looked from Reyna to Gwen, confused. But before either of them could answer, they were interrupted by a loud howl and another sound that sounded definitely like an alarm…

* * *

_Dudun. What do you think happened? :o Well, short chapter I know. But it's still something..xP We have a Roman roll now, there are several chapters because I have to keep the story going on this side ^^._

**So, What do you think! Pleeeeease tell me :)**


	43. The one woman Army

_December 15th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N:** _Hello again, loyal readers! :)_

_Ahh yeah, Christmas time...it's getting more stressful each day you remember you have to buy presents for practically everyone you know. Well, be assured, the only present you have to give me is your opinion and the only one I will give you is an update at least once a week if I don't have more time ^^. How about a double update for Christmas? Wouldn't that be nice? ;P_

_Somebody complained that there are too much fillers and I have to keep the story going. Well, I do. You may not know that but the most things that happen now are important later on. Well, you can't know that so I understand your reaction ^^" But I promise that I'll try and make the chapters more interesting :o. Hope I'm not boring you too much ^^" I know you all want to read the end (and I want to write the end xD) but that needs a little time so PLEASE stay with me and be patient? *pleading look* D8  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XLIII**_

**Reyna**

„Another attack?" Percy asked as Reyna was informed what the alarm was about by another Mars child who just ran in. The boy had looked at Percy with an angry look in his eyes and wanted to say something but Reyna just sent him away, ordering him to stay silent. But Percy obviously had enough of the teasing and people thinking of him as weak. Reyna could understand that far too well.

"Alright, that's it. I'm going out and help." The son of Neptune wanted to lift himself even though it was obvious he didn't have any strength to do so. He pretended to have it but Reyna saw that it was fake. Man, he reminded him of Jason again. Every time the son of Jupiter had been hurt, he also pretended nothing happened. She had talked to Hazel about Percy and they had come to the conclusion that with the poisoning, they should put their concentration on the obvious enemy and not on the – fairly low- possibility that Percy _could_ be one of them. Lupa trusted him and the goddess' judgment was usually very dependable. Even though the she-wolf seemed to process a fairly amount of unexplainable hate towards the boy, she didn't to anything about it. It was strange enough but the two heads of the Castra Roma Legion had decided to just take it as it was. Percy was one of them now and they wouldn't keep arguing as long as he didn't proof to be a threat. That's why Reyna was here now anyway. She'd been a bitch to him this morning and most of yesterday so she wanted to make up for it a bit. Plus, she had noticed how pissed Dakota was when she had told him Percy was awake and she wanted to find out what happened since Dakota herself wouldn't tell her.

"No, Percy, you're staying." Gwen demanded and Reyna heard her being strict for the second time today. She was taking her job with Percy really serious as it seemed. The daughter of Mars liked that new color to the healer and decided to assist her.

"But-" Percy wanted to protest, he had already searched his pockets for the pen that had the ability to grow into a sword. Another strange thing about him but Reyna put the thought aside.

"If Gwen says you're staying, you stay, got it? If I see you out there, I'm going to tell Lupa about your little poisoning.." Reyna interrupted him and gave him one of her glares, a grin on her face because that threat was pretty good. The black haired demigod made a face and dropped back into his cushion with crossed arms. He sighed and then looked back up at Reyna. Somehow, he managed a smile even though Reyna could see that he wanted to go outside.

"Kick some monster ass for me. And if Lupa shows up, tell her I have to talk to her please." He grabbed his bandage and his green eyes gleamed. Reyna just nodded grimly and then stood up. She assumed that the talking he needed to do with Lupa was about that little water trick he did back at those cliffs. The daughter of Mars had to admit, that had been pretty awesome. Her hands now stroked over her upper arms where the golden armlets were and they transformed into her favorite weapons: Two golden double swords. She saw Gwen beside her talk to Percy and then also lay on her armor which she had taken off somewhere in the corner. Then she grabbed her magic bow and arrow and followed Reyna with a last meaningful glance at Percy.

She made her way through the infirmary, passed the first victims of the attack and felt anger rise in her chest as well as confusion. Not even Kronos and his minions had managed so many attacks in such a short period of time. It was extremely difficult to pass through the mist in this area, how the heck could simple monsters just ignore it? That was plainly impossible. Whoever guided them had to be extremely clever or powerful. Or both.

The two demigods met with Hazel and Bobby right outside the building. They walked next to her while the brunette kept marching towards where the battle could be heard.

"Second legion is handling it right now. As far as we can tell there are two giants and five Empousa and they seem to have some kind of special armor or something-"

"I'll handle them alone." Reyna interrupted him and her hands clenched around her two swords even more. Her brown eyes glared at the monsters that could now be seen from where they were now and one could see the rage in those brown orbs. One of those monsters had done this to Percy and they were all so outrageous to attack the Castra again. The daughter of Mars felt like giving them a lesson, show them how it was done. Bobby next to her was suddenly not so serious any more. He stared at her with a mixture of worry and rage.

"_What?_ No, you're not! We're all with you, their armor-" but again, Reyna didn't let him talk any further and just held her hand in front of his chest so he had to stop walking just as Reyna did. She looked up at him, her face serious as they had finally reached the battleground.

"Bob Magnus, you are staying here. And that is an order. In case you forgot, I'm in lead. Plus-" she paused and now smiled at him slightly. Her hand was still on his muscular chest and she looked directly in his blue eyes which were again too full of worry. She would show him how she needed no protection at all.

"You could trust me a little more. I'm really not the kind of girl who needs protection." She told him and then turned around dramatically, her brunette ponytail whipping across his face. The blond had opened his mouth but closed it again when Hazel bumped him into his rips with her elbow from the side. The daughter of Minerva shot the boy a meaningful glance and then looked back at the monsters. Reyna was pleased with this and glared back at the intruders, now full of determination. The second legion was doing well to defend the Castra. No building had been reached now even though it was clear the monsters tried to head for the main house. Even though the Roman soldiers were more than the monsters were, the demigods didn't manage to kill them fully. Sure, two Empousa were already killed but it was going at a far too slowly rate. Was it because of what Bobby had wanted to mention? About their armor?

"Second legion, step back from the intruders. I, Reyna Guerra, momentarily praetor of the first legion am taking care of this." As soon as she spoke it out, the monsters were standing before her alone and the second legion stood behind her in a perfect line, just as they had trained it. All who had bows now pulled them out and pointed arrows at the monsters, Gwendolyn did as well. But Reyna now lifted her hand.

"No, please don't. I need you to take care of something else…" she leaned in to Hazel and whispered something into her ear. When she received a nod, she turned back to the monsters and Hazel ran off behind her. Strangely enough, they hadn't attacked further and just glared at the soldiers in front of them. Reyna now finally stepped forward, anger rising inside her again. This was her home. And she hated her home being attacked. Those creatures would pay for their behavior.

"Are you the one in charge?" the front Empousa suddenly asked. She had curly hair and brown skin, a grin on her face. Why had she transformed back into human form? She looked like a high school teenager and that kind of confused the soldiers around her a bit. The daughter of Mars was still angry but she nodded. All around her, it was quiet, not even the monsters moved as if they were seriously threatened by the arrows pointed at them. No, it was different…was it just her or were they looking at her in a way a monster had never looked at her: With amusement and curiosity.

"Yes…I am. Why do you need to know that? Isn't it enough to know that I'm the one to kill you?" suddenly, the Empousa laughed. Her pretty face now almost seemed bizarre, how she threw back her head and glared at Reyna with an ironic tone in her voice.

"Oh, we know that. Of course one little girl will kill us all. Just one question before we continue: Where's the little sea sprout? Isn't he with you? Why don't you send us someone strong instead so we can have some fun?" those words struck Reyna. First because they filled her with just more rage and second because she was confused. Behind her, a voice sounded. Reyna needed a while to notice it had been Bobby.

"How do you know of Jackson? Who are you to dare and accuse our strongest soldier here like this?" he said and his tone was so bitter even the Empousa's face fell a bit before she began grinning again.

"Oh, I'm Kelli, a senior Empousa. And yes, I know 'Jackson' how you call him. Or should I say the hero of New York's big battle? In fact, he's the one I'd like to feed upon the most of all demigods. Our mistress told us he was with you. So, where is he? Hand him over to us, I want to give him a little kiss…" she smiled a smile that looked really spooky, when out of nowhere, the Empousa next to her exploded to golden dust. Kelli's expression fell and she turned around, stunned.

"What-"

"I don't care why you want to meet Percy or the rest of the crap you just said but I don't think I'll let you kiss any of my soldiers. If I recall correctly, you tend to eat the persons you kiss pretty often." Reyna stood right in front of Kelli now, her two swords pointed at the monster's throat and her imperious brown eyes stared into her almost glowing dark ones. But the brunette didn't care. Flames f lunged in her chest that she noticed were those of extreme anger but also joy. Obviously, Percy had met this monster before and she hated him for some reason. But this Empousa also had no clue who she was and that she was no little girl to mess with just like this. She had no idea how in their Legion Camp, Mars' children could pulverize any monster they set their track on. Kelli's smile had faded completely and she glared down at Reyna's swords, then back into her eyes. Just as sudden as Reyna had been at her throat, the cheerleader now pulled away and transformed back into her monster form right behind Reyna, trying to catch a blow from there. The other remaining monsters now moved as well, all towards the brunette. But Reyna was faster. She reacted and dodged Kelli's next attack, jumped away from a club that was swung at her from one of the giants and managed to kill the next Empousa with her sword.

Why she smiled? Because she had missed fighting. Ever since the war, she hadn't met any monster. She had trained and trained, not knowing if in her entire life, she would ever participate in a war again. And to be honest, she enjoyed all of this. Even if it meant that there would be risks, maybe she could even die but until then, she'd certainly enjoy herself, right?

Another Empousa died from her blades. Kelli turned towards her to attack again. She heard Gwen say something she didn't catch. Then, suddenly, through all the noise, she heard Bobby, panic running through his voice.

"Reyna! Above you!" he screamed and Reyna looked up just in time to see the club ob the giant coming from above while Kelli flung at her with a grin on her scary face and her claws almost at her throat…

* * *

_Ah yeah, Kelli again. Don't we all love her? -_- Well, this chapter was mainly because I have the feeling you all think Reyna and the others are weak in comparison to Percy. Oh, they are pretty good. I just love to make Percy the hero XD Don't mind me, I'm just a fangirl writing a story, of course Percy seems stronger than he probably is but I just love him that way, okay? x_x. Anyway, will Reyna manage? We'll see :3_

**Pleaaaaase tell me what you think, even if it's bad things, I wanna know! :3 Make it a christmas present for me in this stressful but lovely time :)**


	44. Love advice from Hazel

_December 24th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N:**_ Merry Christmas, readers! :)_

_I hope you had a nice day today and yesterday ^^. I'm enjoying my free time at home even though the Professors at university gave us SOME work over the holidays -_-_

_ANYWAY! I wanted to give you my present now, two chapters at once! :) Hope you'll enjoy it :3  
_

___**Now please enjoy! And happy holidays! *hugs*  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter XLIV**_

**Hazel**

Quick, she needed to act quick. Her hands flew over her hair so it wouldn't hang in the way. The daughter of Minerva sighed relieved when she finally found a basin big enough. She stood up from the floor in the storage room she had been in and nodded with satisfaction. _Alright. This should work out._ Grinning, she lifted the pot for water and made her way to the beach. There was no freaking way in hell Hazel Noctua would ever visit the beach despite it was an emergency situation…or an order. This time it was the latter.

In fact, Reyna's plan wasn't even that bad. They all didn't quite understand why but this morning, those hellhounds had made it through their borders. And not only that. They had somehow managed to reform in less than a few hours. That was a record even for the worst kills of a monster a soldier from sixth legion would do. But they were the _first_ legion. No way a monster could revive that quickly without somebody or something mythological interfering. Then something happened that stunned all of them: Percy, that poor excuse for a Roman soldier had managed to actually defeat the hellhounds in one stroke. And they didn't come back. How did he do it? He threw them and their remainings –the dust- into the ocean. So what would a logical thinker conclude? Whoever their opponent was, the ocean was something he or she didn't have power upon. But since Percy was in the infirmary and none of them wanted to rely on him anyway –at least not Hazel here- ,they had to think of another way.

So here she was, dragging ocean water from the beach to the battlefield. At least that was what she had planned to do. The basin was already resting in her hands and she was kneeling in the sand of the beach Lupa had taught Percy yesterday. It took all her willpower not to panic and try to run for it again. That was also why she noticed Dakota that late. The daughter of Venus was sitting on a stone not too far from Hazel and stared out at the ocean. The brunette didn't even know if the blue eyed demigod noticed her. Suddenly, all her intentions were put aside for a moment as her curiosity took over. What was Dakota doing out here when a fight was going on? No offense but even daughters of Venus never missed a proper battle.

"Dakota?" she asked in a quiet voice so she wouldn't startle her. Apparently, the blonde still almost fell from her stone and turned to the brunette with wide blue eyes. Just then, Hazel noticed how wet her eyes and even her cheeks were. Her make-up wasn't affected but it still looked pretty bad. Had she been crying that hard? And how long had she been out here in the cold with only her shirt and armor on?

"Hazel…since when are you here?" the daughter of Venus asked and tried to ignore that Hazel had probably seen her tears. Even now, all sad and obviously miserable, Dakota still looked beautiful. The grey eyed demigod would never admit it but she often envied the girl for her natural beauty. She could do what she wanted, she'd still look gorgeous. But Hazel shook away the thought and sighed, dropping next to Dakota on the stone.

"I just got here to get some water. The Castra was attacked, won't you come? Reyna seems to put on some show out there." She nudged the blonde in the shoulder with the intention to cheer her up. Instead, Dakota just sighed and shook her head.

"Not in the mood." She simply stated, pulling up her knees to her upper body and placing her chin on them. What the heck? This behavior was so not like her! She remembered the strong, stubborn girl arguing with her just this morning and now she gave up on a monster fight, just like that? The rage and negative feelings she had possessed for Dakota this morning suddenly vanished and her gaze became concerned.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice different from her normal, imperious tone and she leaned forward a bit so she could look into Dakota's blue irises. The blonde had concentrated her gaze on the horizon and now lifted it a bit so she could gaze to Hazel. There was a long pause between them in which Dakota seemed to think about whether she should talk to Hazel about it or not.

"He likes someone else." She finally said and pressed her lips together as if she regretted to have spitted it out. With raised eyebrows, Hazel blinked her grey eyes at that statement, finally lifted her gaze from the daughter of Venus and joined her at staring at the ocean.

"Oh…who is it?" she asked after a short pause of silence where they just listened to the wind and the waves crushing at the beach. Actually, she wasn't really thrilled to know. The daughter of Minerva feared that this stupid son of Neptune got himself into love affairs he shouldn't get into. And to get Dakota upset like this was definitely something just a guy like Percy could do. Not because he was a son of Neptune, at least not in particular. It was just that Hazel knew about Dakota's strong addiction to powerful demigods. The blonde had always complained about how it was a shame there weren't any other children of the big three out there, they brought the power of the elements and strong stuff like that. But no, they were forbidden and Jason kept rejecting her flirts anyway. On the other hand, Hazel was a little bit curious as well. Even if she didn't want to admit it, this girl next to her was one of her friends after all. And maybe she would receive a reason to be actually mad at him, to give him what he probably deserved anyway-

"I guess it's someone from his past. Or do you know someone in the Castra called 'Annabeth'?" Dakota lifted her gaze and studied Hazel quizzically. But the daughter of Minerva just shook her head.

"No…I don't. Why did he tell you about her in the first place? Did he go out and say 'Dakota, leave me alone, I love Annabeth' or what?" she tried to sound upright and sarcastic to make Dakota at least a little more cheerful and maybe it was an attempt to take his name in vain. But again, Dakota's mood seemed to drop even further.

"Nope. I had the feeling he was hiding something since yesterday but he didn't say anything offensive towards me. But just an hour ago or so, when he was sleeping, he murmured her name and it sounded as if he was…ya know, longing to see her." She pressed her lips together and stroked through her long hair once again since the wind kept messing it up. Hazel cursed silently. Condemno. She had feared something like that. It was nothing to blame him for if he had someone in his past and began remembering her now. Then Dakota was the one interfering and Percy would be at right. Damn. Hazel had wanted something to blame him for. On the other hand, that didn't really matter right now. She should stop being so offensive towards him for no reason even though she'd probably never stop to hate him because of his powers and parentage. But right now, Dakota needed some support. And if Hazel really wanted to, she wasn't even that bad at comforting. So she now started smiling and nudged Dakota in the side, which confused the daughter of Venus quite a bit.

"Hey, lighten up. That doesn't automatically mean she was his girlfriend, right? Maybe she was just a good friend he starts to remember. And even if she might be his girlfriend, she's in the past now. Percy's here in the Castra right now and it's even possible the people from his past don't exist anymore. You can get amnesia from a trauma, maybe he lost his memory that way." She paused to let that sink in, when Dakota suddenly shook her head and stared at Hazel.

"Don't you remember Lupa saying his memories were stolen?" she asked, a slight grin on her face. It was rare for Hazel to miss things like that and indeed, she did really forget all about that right now. Blood rushed to her face but she tried to hide it by looking away from Dakota.

"I…of course I do! But my other points are argumentative anyway!" she looked back at Dakota with a stubborn face but then also smiled wickedly.

"Besides, since when are you giving up that easily? I thought daughters of Venus were known for their ability to vow men? And you just give up because of some girl that might not even be alive and he doesn't properly remember?" she now stood up and rubbed the dirt off her armor and jeans. Then she held out a hand to Dakota.

"Come on. I'm sure it'll turn out just fine. Now get your sexy ass up and help us with those monsters, will ya?" it took a while but then Dakota smiled and actually grabbed Hazel's hand.

"Did you just say sexy?" she asked with a teasing look in her eyes. Hazel just shrugged and grinned back as Dakota helped her to lift the basin full of water. It was strange. She never actually got along with Dakota really well but right now, she had the feeling that it might turn out better if their topic wouldn't always be..well, Percy.

"What's the water for anyway?" Dakota asked and lifted an eyebrow. Hazel explained it to her and both of them together managed to get back to the Battleground pretty quickly. But when they got there, the two of them saw something they really wouldn't have expected.

Reyna stood in the middle of the fight, the big club of a giant directly above her head. But her spear was between it and her head, stabilized on the floor. The daughter of Mars had a smug on her face and whispered the secret word in Latin that caused her spears magical abilities to arise. Hazel had to smile slightly. She knew these monsters were nothing for the daughter of Mars. Her weapon was magically transformable in multiple weapons, the spear and double swords were only two of them. And as a daughter of Mars, Reyna was excellent with all of them. Flames now arose from the spear in her hands and shocked the giant so he took away his club in shock. A mistake. The next moment, Reyna had already killed him with her spear and after another stroke at the remaining ones, who also crumbled to dust, she turned back to the monster which looked like an Empousa to Hazel. She had tried to dodge Reyna's stroke but the smart fighter had just tricked her and so the Empousa had the blade at her throat, the brunette before her grinned.

"So…you still want to call me a little girl? Good night. You're never going to meet Percy again…" and with those words, she stabbed the monster right through her neck. As the last one of them, she crumbled to dust and Reyna turned around, bathing in the applause of the crowd of soldiers that gathered around her. She noticed Hazel and nodded.

Alright, her turn. She told Dakota and Gwen to help her collect the dust and put it into the water she had carried here. Bobby was busy asking Reyna if she was okay, only to receive a death glare from the daughter of Mars.

But the love couple aside, Hazel still didn't understand how the hell the monsters came into the Castra. There was something going on she didn't understand. And she didn't like not understanding. This daughter of Minerva would find out what was going on, no matter how strange or impossible the outcome might be!

* * *

_So! More of Hazel. I know you hate her but it's getting a LITTLE better with time, isn't it? xD And that was it about Kelly xD_

**On to the next one! Tell me what you think :)**


	45. The captured pilot

_December 24th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N:** _Heeello again xD_

_Yeah, next chapter. This time it's Roman. And THIS is what happened to Leo! Hope you enjoy :) We're on to some monster action here :D  
_

___**Now please enjoy!**_

* * *

_**Chapter XLV**_

**Leo**

This situation was becoming really messed up. The son of Hephaestus had been lost in thought while working on the jet. It had been wonderful, him alone with the machine once again. No human minds to twist around, nobody you could hurt by accident. He really began to understand his father in that way. Still, the feeling of being watched first came to him when several minutes of repairing had already passed, maybe even half an hour. He had finished the wing and made some adjustments at the turbines, standing on a ladder to do so. Just when he was about to attach the last screw, he felt it again. This intense stare…it had been there several times before. Every time, he had turned around and stared into the forest right behind him. But when a second passed, he shook his head and turned back again. The same thing happened now and he had to slightly laugh at his silliness. After all, it was completely impossible for anyone to watch him, right? He was alone out here in the Rocky Mountains, a deserted landscape where hardly a human went at this time of the year. The snow around him had began bugging him a little. It was no problem for the fire user to stay warm, it was just that the flakes kept getting into his eyes. So he decided to put on some goggles which he pulled out of his belt. Leo felt the belt slowly exhausting from all the tools he had pulled out because of the fixing. A mental note was made that he wouldn't use the belt so much anymore in the following minutes.

But then, everything turned out wrong.

The stare was there again, he could suddenly feel it almost physically against the back of his head. This time, he wanted to make sure and catch whoever was looking at him and turned around fast, glaring into the forest right next to the plane with those orange goggles on. And indeed, he met a pair of scary yellow eyes that stared over to him from the darkness of the trees. He wanted to widen his eyes in shock and pull out a hammer from his belt but it was that time that he noticed how he couldn't move a muscle. The yellow slits drew his vision in and seemed to take his ability to stir away from him as if his limbs were suddenly made out of solid stone. The son of Hephaestus felt how he was standing on the ladder and in the next moment, he dropped over into the snow, landing on his back painfully. Normally, he would've screamed or at least groaned but no sound escaped his frozen lips. His gaze was fixed on a bush next to him and he couldn't even see the plane any more.

Noises appeared from behind him and he clearly heard footsteps in the snow. They were slow and heavy as if whoever did them was some giant being. What was this? Why couldn't he move his body properly? Was it a monster? But was there one that could paralyze you by looking at you? What about Medusa? Oh no, she turned you to stone, right? But what about his goggles, maybe he didn't turn to stone because of them? Then again, there were these steps that clearly didn't belong to a woman but rather to a being of the size of a Cyclopes. As they were coming closer, Leo tried to move again. But it didn't work. At all. The only thing he was able to move were his eyes and he was lucky that they were still open. They were getting dry though because he wasn't able to blink. Suddenly, the steps behind him stopped short. He heard a small hissing sound that sounded like a laugh and then a clink of metal like a knife was drawn. Crap! This thing –whatever it was- was about to kill him! He had to get out of here, he was all alone, the others didn't know where he was-

A pain impregnated him around his waist. His brown eyes saw blood dropping into the snow when looking down and his tool belt loosened around him. Then a hand appeared in front of his eyes, lifted his goggles and everything went dark. H-he cut off his tool belt without caring if he cut his shirt and skin as well! Styx, he needed that damn belt! Otherwise, he had no weapon. And the next moment, he felt that he was being lifted. Since the son of Hephaestus wasn't able to open his eyes, he had to rely on his remaining senses. The monster felt strange, almost complete solid when the side of his body touched his due to him being carried. The snow under the monster or the person's feet crunched as he walked and through his eyelids, Leo could soon notice his surroundings becoming darker and from one second to another, the snow storm around them died down. The wound at his waist hurt but of course he didn't receive any treatment or something. What was the reason for him of all people being kidnapped? Because of his powers? Because he was the pilot? 'Cause he was one of the seven? Or just because he was the only one alone out in the cold? Maybe.

The steps he heard were now getting loader and they seemed to have entered a room or something because the noise was thrown back to Leo's ears from the walls. The son of Hephaestus assumed that it was a cave of some sort because that was the most likely thing to find in this landscape and the sound seemed so empty as if the walls were out of stone and not something that swallowed up sound, like wood for example.

It was a long walk through that cave and Leo got tired of not being able to move. All he was longing for right now was punching that bastard who did this to him right in the face. The pain on his hip wasn't exactly decreasing either and he wondered why he was even able to breathe if nothing else worked. He was glad it did though, otherwise he would be dead meat by now. The monster finally stood still and Leo heard a noise like metal screaming from a rusty door being opened. He should have this fixed, the screeching was horrible.

Then he was tossed to the floor, painfully landing on his wound. His eyes were still closed so he couldn't quite see where he was. But wherever he was, it smelled awfully rotten and disgusting. The sound of the door being closed could be heard as soon as Leo rested on the floor. Hands tied behind his back, it wasn't really possible to move. Not that he could, anyway. His body still felt like stone. So he waited…and waited. In the meantime, he wondered if the others would search for him. Of course they would, when they wanted to continue their travel at least. Or would that be too late? Maybe that monster wanted to kill him? Why was he still alive then?

Leo couldn't tell how much time actually passed. Half an hour? Ten minutes? Several hours? Maybe he fell asleep somewhere in between. But as time passed, he felt his limps gaining control again. The first thing he did was to open his eyes. Just slightly, slowly, carefully. After all, he couldn't be sure if he was being watched. But there was nobody there. As it seemed, he was sitting in a cave and the room he was in was a small space separated from the rest of the room with metal bars. So he was trapped. Great. But at least he was alone. The son of Hephaestus moved his hands to notice that they were tied together by simples ropes only. Yes! No rope would be able to resist his awesome fire powers! Piece of cake. He sat up slowly but surely, trying not to make his wound hurt that much. Well, he didn't quite succeed in that. It still pretty much hurt.

Finally, he could make out his entire environment. There was hardly any light in this cave though Leo noticed some strange lights flying around. They glowed like it was a lamp but seemed to float around freely without anybody carrying them. What were those? The son of Hephaestus had never seen anything like it and it kinda fascinated him. He checked again if he was unwatched and when he was as good as certain, he lit his hands on fire and the flames crept up his arm, causing the ropes to burn away really quick. He lifted his hands and sighed relieved, rubbed his wrists and smiled gleefully. Then he stripped from his jacket, ripped away a part of his shirt and used it as a makeshift bandage around his waist, putting his jacket back on. He checked if his goggles were still there and found them hanging around his neck. Good, maybe he could use them later. After that was settled, he turned around to look if somebody else was in his "cell". But it seemed empty. Though he almost screamed when he spotted a skeleton in the very edge of the "room". It was wearing some kind of metal wrist band around its skeleton arm which glowed strangely golden in the dark. Leo, curious as he was, wanted to get closed and examine it, when a voice disturbed the silence.

"Well well…If that isn't one talented demigod we have here? How did you get free of your ropes, pilot of the 'demigod rescue service'?" Leo heard the voice chuckle sarcastically and he turned around faster than he had ever moved. His eyes caught a glimpse of these intense yellow eyes again.

This time though, the son of Hephaestus was a little smarter and decided not to look into them directly. So he tried to make out the rest of its body. The creature hat just appeared in front of Leo's prison and grinned down at him with glee in its voice. His gaze started at its feet and his first thought was "giant lizard". Which was pretty fitting for the legs as well. And his upper body. H-he was in custody of a giant lizard! What the hell…

"Welcome, young demigod. I assume you see a creature like me for the first time…May I introduce myself: Basilisk, holder of this cave and soon to be honored servant of my mistress, mother earth."

* * *

_Yeah. Bazilisk. It was my idea BEFORE the book came out. Seriously. But mine is a little different anyway so I guess it's alright ^^_

**Please enjoy the double update and lean back for the holidays! :)** **Ah and tell me what you think pretty please :3** **That'd be my present from you guys :D**


	46. The talking Pegasus

_December 29th 2011_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N:**_ Hello again, loyal readers! :)_

_I hope you enjoyed your Christmas and got some nice presents. This is going to be the last update until the new year starts because I'm visiting a dear friend of mine for New Years eve and therefore can't upload anything. I'll probably do so again soon in the new year. I'm excited for 2012, are you? :D We're going to keep the story going, guys and I swear that it's not going to be that boring from now on (I hope). The introductions and everything are over and we can now get down to the action, with monster fighting and stuff xD. _

_This chapter is pretty short because I had a 7 pages chapter and divided it in two. The next part will come out in the new year then xD. Hope you like it anyway! XD  
_

_****____**Now please enjoy! And have a good way into the new year! *hugs***_

* * *

_**Chapter XLVI**_

**Percy**

When Percy was told that the fight was over, he almost dropped out of bed. Not because he was shocked that the fight had ended so fast. No, the stunning thing was that it had been done by Reyna alone.

"Whaaaat? Are you serious?" he exclaimed, green eyes widened in shock. His shoulder was far better now after Gwen had looked at it again. It was frustrating, sitting in here while the day passed and the others were out there training or battling monsters. It was almost time for dinner and Percy felt his stomach acting up. He was impressed by those news alright. But then again, was he expecting something else from Reyna? Not really. It had a reason that she was in command, after all. And the fight against her hadn't exactly been a piece of cake either. His instincts had totally saved him as well as his strange skin even though the teenager had the feeling that he had fought far more powerful beings before that were not human. Not even half.

Sighing, Percy now dropped back into his cushion and made a face. Man, he had wanted to fight as well, get these monsters back for poisoning him! But no, he had to stick here in this bed, waiting his time until his body was completely healed. But he looked just fine!

"Man, I'm bored here. Can't I go see Lupa now?" he asked, looking up at Gwen. The daughter of Apollo was sitting next to his bed again, had just taken care of his bandages. Dakota was on the other side of his bed and seemed to try out something with her hair out of boredom. Gwen wanted to open her mouth to say something when Dakota dropped the hair she had in hand and stood up.

"Yeah, I agree. I'm bored as well. Let's go bother Lupa, I'm free from activities for today anyway." She stretched her arms over her head and pulled her hair together in a regular ponytail. It still looked awesome on her somehow and Percy was getting a tiny flashback from somewhere in the back of his mind with a beautiful, no, gorgeous woman that sat in a car, smiling at him from the front seat. But the image faded just as soon as it came and Percy got back to reality when Gwen started to protest.

"No, Dakota! He's in no state to go and see Lupa! But maybe he can go out and do something that's not so dangerous…" she seemed to think about it and now Dakota's face suddenly lit up.

"I got it! My cabin and I should have Pegasus riding before dinner, how about it, Percy? Want to soar in the sky with me and my siblings?" she faced Percy, excitement in her eyes. Wait, Pegasus riding? There were Pegasi here? His face probably showed the confusion and Dakota giggled because of it.

"Oh, you didn't see them yet, did you? Yeah, the Pegasi have a pause on Sundays. But today is Monday, so it's perfect! Please, Gwen?" she clapped her hands and looked at Gwendolyn with pleading blue eyes. Finally, Gwen gave in, sighing.

"Fine. Go see the horses." She concluded and began packing together her medic pack. Percy grinned and tossed aside his bed sheets when suddenly, Dakota threw her arms around the healer.

"Oww, thanks so much, Gwen! I'm going to be careful with him, promise!" she squealed and pressed the daughter of Apollo to her chest tightly. Gwen's green eyes widened in shock and she even blushed a little. Being hugged like this was rare for her and Percy gave her an understanding smile. After all, Dakota did that to him a lot and he was _male_. Finally, the daughter of Venus let go and turned around, grabbing Percy's hand to drag him along. Unfortunately, she pulled a little too hard, causing Percy to wince and almost fall over when he stood up.

"Ouch! Didn't you say you'd be careful?" he complained with a cheesy grin on his face and rubbed his shoulder after telling Gwen goodbye and thanks for the healing. Dakota still pulled him with her but turned around now. She saw his grin, how he rubbed his shoulder and her blue eyes widened, she turned red on the cheeks.

"I- Oh Gods, I'm so sorry! W-we're almost there.." she said and turned around again, loosening her grip around his hand.

"Pegasus riding isn't really popular, you know. The only use in a fight is that you can attack from the air. So once you manage riding a Pegasus, you don't come back to these lessons unless you're in my cabin. We're the teachers for riding the Pegasi so I guess we do it permanently because of that." She shrugged and kept walking forward as if she was unsure how to think about that fact. Percy raised an eyebrow. Somehow, that seemed strange to him. Why abandon the Pegasi once you were able to ride them? Wasn't that a little cruel?

But he was taken out of his thoughts when they reached another one of those marble buildings that were so common around here. It was apparently behind the big main building and hard to spot when you looked from the meadow. The stables were a flat building with pegasi and normal horses engraved on the side, hay lay around in big bun piles everywhere over the place. Several demigods were waiting in front of the building and eyed Percy and Dakota when they came closer. Percy immediately noticed how they were all unusually beautiful, even the guys under them. Their hair color and shape of the face was never the same except for two brunette twins that were the first to point at Percy and Dakota with a giggle, looking at each other knowingly.

"You're late, Dakota." A guy pointed out. He had leaned against the wall of the stables and looked awfully bored and extremely smug. A grin was spread over his face as if this was a victory for him. He scrutinized Percy from top to bottom and his grin went wider as if he was not taking him seriously for some reason. Dakota was unaffected by his vanity though and just stemmed her hands in her hips, glaring at the boy with anger in her blue eyes.

"I know that, William." At those words, Percy couldn't help but start laughing. He realized what he was about to do and managed to suppress the laugh. It still came out as a chuckle though and "William" glared at him as if he was about to get him killed for sure. Dakota just ignored it again and looked at the others. It was the first time Percy saw her like this but her posture and overall appearance told him that she was clearly the leader her, the one who was in the position to command the others around.

"So, let us begin. Daughters and Sons of Venus, I introduce you to Percy Jackson, Son of Neptune and-"

"Your new boyfriend?" William asked with glee in his grin, looking at Percy while speaking. First, Percy was about to blush but he was able to catch himself and instead glared at William. He was about to open his mouth when Dakota stopped him with a hand raised in front of his chest. She had a deadly gleam in her eyes and even though her cheeks were just slightly pink, she stepped closer to William and pointed at his chest that was protected solemnly by a purple shirt. Dakota was still wearing her armor –strange enough- and Percy could swear that she was about to kill William in every single way she knew possible.

"If you don't shut your puny little mouth _right_ now, I'll give you more detention than you could ever work off in your entire life! Understood?" She took a deep breath and wanted to go on, when Percy grabbed her by the arm and smiled. He had felt the urge to calm her down since it was partly his fault her sibling was like that to her.

"Hey, it's alright. Aren't the horses waiting for us?" he asked, smiling. He wanted to throw something back at William but he was able to contain his anger somehow. Was it the smell of hay around him? Not really possible, was it? Then again, he heard voices from inside the stable and he wasn't sure what that meant. Wasn't only the Venus cabin supposed to be here? Curiosity was rising inside of his chest and Dakota indeed calmed down, seemingly appeased by Percy's smile.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's get in." she said, stepping closer to the door, completely ignoring William now. Dakota's other siblings had kept quiet though their eyes constantly followed the conversation intently. Was it just him or did Percy see curiosity all over the place? Anyway. Now that they finally entered, Percy was even more confused. There were just Pegasi and normal horses in here. Lots of them, around 20, yes. But no human. Where had the voices come from? As soon as the door was opened, everything was quiet and he looked around, completely baffled. Dakota was back at business soon and divided them into groups.

"Alright, we have almost enough Pegasi for us. Emma and Hanna, you two take Cana. Percy, we'll have to take turns, there are two horses insufficient." She smiled at him as everyone went to the stables with the Pegasi. If you subtracted the normal horses, there were 12 Pegasi in this stable and they were 13 demigods. Where was the problem…

"What's with the white one in the back? She's still free." Don't ask why he knew it was female. The green eyed demigod just saw the Pegasus' head and how it glared at him with a strange look in her eyes. Percy and Dakota were standing not far away from its box and Percy could touch her with his hand if he wanted to. The daughter of Venus next to him shook her head and threw the mare a nervous look.

"That's not possible. She keeps crash-landing us into the lake or forest and acts up If she's supposed to fly. We're not able to tame her though she was once one of our best." Dakota seemed disappointed because of that. Percy wanted to accept her statement when he suddenly heard a voice.

"_It's not like that's entirely my fault or something."_ It said in a sarcastic tone and Percy turned in the direction it came from. It was the horse. Wait. No, that was impossible.

…Or was it?

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, Percy discovers more of his powers. Haa, I love writing that xD Sorry if I bore you :/ And no, Dakota is not giving up as you can see ^^. Be curious what that Pegasus is about, she'll be important for the rest of the story xD Maybe not the key but it's going to be interesting ^^_

**Please tell me what you thiiink! :3**


	47. New Equestrian

_January 3rd 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N:**_ Happy New Year, my loyal readers! :)_

_I hope you had a nice way of entering the new year 2012 that is going to bring some changes to all of us I guess, either in a good or a bad way. But about this story, nothing is going to change except that I'll keep going, you hopefully enjoy yourselves and I try to keep up the frequent updates and entertaining chapters :D_

_I honestly promise to try my very best :D That's going to be my resolution for this year ^^  
_

_And about William: Maybe he just things Percy's a threat to him being the most popular guy around? xD Dunno. I just like bitchy Sons of Venus. He'll get sick of it some day, trust me xP  
_

_****____**Now please enjoy!  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter XLVII**_

**Percy**

Horses couldn't talk. He had to be imagining this...Then again, it felt so familiar…something in the back of his head told him that to him, horses could do that…

Finally, Percy took a deep breath and accepted it. It was just one of the many weir things in his life after all. One thing more wouldn't make him any more of a freak. But he didn't want to know how the others would react. He had to simply try it out. So he turned around and faced Dakota again who was now busy checking if everyone was set up with a Pegasus.

"She said that it's not entirely her fault." Percy said, pointing at the mare behind him. The blonde looked at him and shook her head again, seemingly she had long lost hope for that Pegasus.

"Of course she's- wait, she _said_?" she asked, staring at him as if he was an alien. Maybe he was? Well, he couldn't be sure with his head full of no memory. But he highly doubted it. Suddenly, a laugh was heard from the next box. It was William –who else. The son of Venus had a fat grin on his face, sensing victory.

"Haha, Dakota. Your boyfriend is nuts. He hears the Pegasi talk." He kept laughing but Percy ignored it. He nodded at Dakota and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her with him so they stood in front of the mare's box. His green eyes looked at the mare for a few moments before he turned back to Dakota again. The blonde studied him but didn't say anything further, trying to read the wild and excited expression in his seagreen eyes.

"What's her name?" Percy asked Dakota and nodded in the direction of the white Pegasus.

"Naira. Why? Percy, is everything alright with you?" she looked worried about his health and started to check out his shoulder as if she was unsure if this was a side effect of the poison. But Percy was sure of himself, pressing her shoulder with one of his hands as a reassuring gesture. He had a solid look on his face when their eyes met. If he was trying to be friends with these people, he had to make them trust him. That had been the easiest with Dakota until now. Percy knew that this horse thing was hard to believe but he tried to put his thoughts into his words so she wouldn't question him any further for now. Just until he managed to demonstrate that he was right…

"Trust me. Now watch this." He turned around and faced the mare, smiling. He stepped closer to the box. Dakota wanted to warn him and hold him back but Percy just let got of her shoulder and motioned her to step behind him. He lifted his hand and stroked over the horses nostrils. The mare wasn't really thrilled by that but didn't pull away either. She smelled on his hand and seemed to be curious what came next.

_Naira, right? Why are you crash-landing then if it's not your fault?_ he asked in the same way he remembered talking to the monster underwater. With his mind. Yes, he was talking with his mind, you could call him crazy now but it was a fact. And it seemed to work. The horse was first shocked but then suddenly calmed down, not trying to pull away from his hand any more. A sign of recognition in her eyes before she finally answered in a much less sarcastic tone, more pleasing than anything else.

"_I don't want any of those monsters to ride me when I'm up in the sky, my Lord."_ The Pegasus responded and shook its head as if she was disgusted by something. Again, an animal had called him Lord. What the heck? But he didn't complain and just went on, his gaze a little puzzled.

"There are no monsters here, why are you calling us that?" he asked out loud, sure that the horse would understand that too.

"_Oh no, not you, my Lord. I'm sure you're different from them. But the others, they are the reason Kile died."_ The horse said and his head dropped a little. Percy's eyebrows raised and he noticed that the horse wasn't able to talk about it further. So he turned to Dakota.

"What happened to Kyle?" he asked and tilted his head a little which made his hair fall into his eyes a bit.

"How do you know of- Wait, you can really talk to her?" she asked, still that puzzled look on her face, not sure if she should turn him right back into the infirmary again. A voice from behind interrupted them. This time, it wasn't William –which Percy was quite happy about- but one of the twins.

"Oh, I see! Yesterday, one of those Minerva geeks told me about Neptune's realms. I didn't want to listen but we happened to stand next to each other in line and she just wouldn't stop talking… She said something about that her elder sister looked it up to find out about Percy…Wait, she said ocean, earthquakes, storms...and horses! So it would fit, right?" she smiled down to him since she was already sitting on her brown Pegasus and her sister was sitting behind her. Slowly but surely, Percy nodded. Yeah, that was right…his father created horses. That was the reason he could communicate with them. Another piece in the puzzle that was his past life fell back into place. Also, he had a small flash of memory that showed a black, majestic Pegasus standing on top of a tall building with a giant city below them. But it was gone as soon as it came and Percy couldn't catch the details.

When he switched back into reality, Dakota nodded and then looked back up. She seemed a little more relaxed now that she knew that Percy hadn't turned insane but her expression was also way too curious. "So, what is she saying?"

"Oh come on, Dakota. You don't really believe that crap, do you? Like that idiot could understand such a noble animal as the horse. I could imagine him talking to fish though." William commented. He was already sitting on a grayish Pegasus and came out of his box, glaring down at Percy with disgust in his brown eyes. Suddenly though, Percy began to grin.

"You don't believe me? Well, your Pegasus is thinking you're an idiot yourself and that he's going to let you fall off in midair if you keep insulting me. Am I right, buddy?" Percy crossed his arms and the Pegasus below William began to neigh and seemed close before throwing him off by moving so hard. William was busy not falling off but when the Pegasus calmed down again, he glared at Percy. Although he didn't disagree any further.

"Now, Naira here told me that it was your fault that Kyle died and that was the reason she wouldn't let any of you ride her. So, what happened to Kyle?" he was looking around, judging all of their looks. Several Venus children were standing closer to them now, very interested in what they were talking about. None of them had left to fly outside, not even William. But now that Percy mentioned Kyle, they all were suddenly busy with something, murmuring under their breaths as if it was a topic they wouldn't want to speak of. Dakota was the only one Percy was still able to look in the eye since the other ones let their gazes drift to some uncertain point in the air. But the blonde also didn't seem thrilled about the topic. She sighed and rubbed her arm in discomfort but finally agreed to speak.

"Percy…" she paused and now lowered her own blue eyes as well, leaning against the wood of the stable doors and bit her lip before she continued. "You see, we had many losses during the last war against the Titans. Not only my cabin, all of us lost siblings. Me, Hazel, Reyna, Bobby, Gwen…we lost so many soldiers that it was nearly impossible to write down all their names on an honourable stone. We had to organize a bigger one to make it work properly since the letters are all big and…well, that's not important now! Anyway, during the last battles, we fought at mount Tam, in the Bay Area. Jason battled Krios and we all had enough to do with the other monsters that were there, defending Mount Orthrys. My cabin was in turn to ride the Pegasi, as most of the time since we are that good at it. We attacked from above and were able to surprise the monsters that way. Unfortunately, they weren't as dim minded as we thought and managed to cut the legs or even wings of our horses as we flew down. We had to fall back and treat the wounds but instead, the monsters had more arms and eyes for our other soldiers fighting on the ground. We could see from the air how they were falling back. Kile was our best rider. He was far better than I was and he was flying on Naira here, as he always did. When we were up in the air, he said we needed to get back down even though it was too risky. I wanted to make him shut up and let me think but he said that we could just try something he called the 'Air roll'. The principle is simple, you just need to be tied to the settle since when you fly with your head pointing to the ground you would fall off otherwise. I had to make the decision and decided to try it because I couldn't stand seeing our troops fall back. We lost too many already, I didn't want to let my friends die any further. So we took that advise and I ordered our best riders to follow me and Kile down back to the monsters. Because of our armors and helmets we were well protected and also managed to surprise the monsters again. But when we were almost done with our first ride and close to a cliff facing the ocean, Kyle turned around to cheer at me that it worked and when he did…See, the giant with the club was more prepared than we were…" she had to stop and cover her mouth with one of her hands.

Percy saw tears in her eyes and wasn't sure what to do. His muscles were numb from that story and he tried to get the picture out of his head of this brave Pegasus rider whose head met up with the club of a giant. Even though he didn't know how he knew what a giant like that looked like. He just did.

Anyway. When he saw Dakota backing away, the first tear gliding down her face, the black haired boy only hesitated for a bit before deciding to hug her. He lay his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest though he hoped that this wouldn't be seen as romantic since he just meant it as a gesture out of sympathy, not of love. Though Percy had the feelings that in a stable full of Venus children, everything he did towards Dakota was probably interpreted as "romantic".

The head daughter of Venus reacted a little slow. First, she stayed as she was but she quickly returned his hug, gripped his purple shirt tight and hid her face in the fabric. Percy now noticed two things. First, the whole cabin was staring at him. Even the horses. He ignored it, Dakota needed this now. He could imagine leading one of his close friends or even siblings in a situation like that…he even felt like he actually did that and the thought gave him a pain that stung where his heart would be even though he couldn't remember any faces or names. But he had the feeling that some of them were engraved in that clay bead he had on his necklace. Yeah, the necklace. That was the second thing he noticed. This was the first time he didn't wear it. It had seemed wrong to him to wear the beads and the purple shirt together. It just didn't fit in. But now, he wasn't wearing it at all and it was the first time that he looked like they all did here. Purple shirt, jeans, a weapon and even a serious face. But he didn't like it at all and it felt even more wrong to him than wearing the necklace and purple shirt together. He decided to get that necklace fixed as soon as he could, just to feel that rebellious feeling again that he had when wearing it out in the open here in this camp.

When Dakota finally pulled away, it was probably only because of her lack for air. She had grabbed to Percy really tight even though the son of Neptune rarely noticed it. It seemed like his old resistance and body strength was getting back to him and he was kinda glad about that since he was sick of well..being sick.

"Sorry…" Dakota whispered and whipped her eyes with her wrist, sniffing slightly. But Percy just shook his head.

"Don't mention it. I think I know the feeling…" his green eyes drifted to the side and were filled with some kind of pain. He wanted to grab onto his necklace when he again remembered it was back at the infirmary so he grabbed into thin air, balled his fist and needed to sigh. He lost a comrade like that, no, more than just one. Even though the faces were just schemes, he felt the guilt in his chest weighting him down. He led them into their deaths…

"_We're all aware that the losses were unavailable, and that it's not your fault. You should really keep that in mind, Seaweed Brain."_

The meaningful words spoken with Annabeth's soft but also wise voice echoed in Percy's head and he immediately felt a little better at the thought of her expression and her tone from that first dream he had. But right now, blue eyes instead of grey ones looked at him and Percy saw that Dakota hesitated to ask him what he meant by that. Finally, she decided against it and turned to Naira now.

"So, you think of me as a monster because of what happened there? I can understand that and I…I deeply apologize. If I could turn back time, I'd have tried to find another way…" she lowered her gaze and then threw a quick glance at Percy, thinking about something. Turning back to the mare, she now smiled sadly.

"And I understand, if you don't want any of us to ride you, especially me. But would you please give Percy the chance? I think he's perfect for a majestic Pegasus as you are one." First, Percy was too taken by trying to read Naira's reaction that he noticed pretty late what Dakota actually said.

"Wait- What? No, no! I think you should take her, you're far better than I am. I could just take the grey one over there, I think he'd be fine with it-" he was about to walk over when the son of Neptune was suddenly interrupted by a voice in his head and he stood still immediately, turning his head in that direction.

"_That'd be an honor, my lord."_ It was Naira. And she was bowing her head down as far as she could manage with the box door below her neck. Percy slowly turned around, stared at the horse and then at Dakota. The daughter of Venus was smiling at him as if she awaited him to take the offer and just do it. And so, finally, Percy sighed defeated.

"Fine. I'll do it." He said and stepped closer to the box, opening the lock with his fingers. He saw Dakotas lips forming a wide smile and that was enough to convince him he did the right thing.

Percy was just about to climb up Naira's back, when suddenly, the whole roof of the stables exploded.

* * *

_Soooooo what happened now? And as some of you already guessed, Percy has a new Pegasus. Well well, won't Blackjack be jealous? ;P Hope I didn't go too sentimental now but I thought it was sweet ^^  
_

**Hope you enjoyed it, please tell me what you think! :3**

**_Side Note: My gods, this has over 3000 words...I hope that's enough for you XDD  
_**


	48. Dangerous little Light

_January, 8th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, loyal readers :)_

_See, I decided something. Just to keep me writing steadily and keep a little distance from university work, I decided to publish two chapters every weekend. Every time, it'll be a Greek and Roman one so basically, everybody would be happy, I'd be "forced" to write more (I'll really try my best) and we keep the story going at a steady rate. _

_"Weekend" here means between Thursday afternoon (my weekend actually starts there, it rocks) and Sunday evening (like now). Since I just decided this though, the second chapter this week will probably come tomorrow or Tuesday xD._

_But I have to warn you: the end of my first Semester is nearing and I don't know how many work I'll have on my to-do-list and how much it'll freak me out. I'll tell you if there's going to be any delay though :)_

_Hope that's good news for you! Now on with the Annabeth-action (which is much needed) and the monster fight. ACTIOOON! :D_

_**Please enjoy :3  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter XLVIII**_

**Annabeth**

As always when being on monster hunt, Annabeth had a bad feeling. It was like her senses were getting sharper, her muscles were ready to let her jump out of the way or at the throat of any foe in her path. The thing that was different with this cave was that it was so eerily quiet. Not a sound could be heard beside their footsteps. All of the demigods and the one satyr kept close to the wall as she had ordered but besides their breaths, none other could be heard.

Slowly, Annabeth now raised a hand as a signal. They all stopped in their tracks immediately. Good choice. Just when their steps stopped echoing from the walls, the daughter of Athena was able to make out voices from deeper inside of the cave, deeper into the darkness. Another odd thing. Why weren't there any lights? Though there seemed to be a little bit of light from the room behind the guards.

"-and I'm sssick of getting ordered around like that." A female voice said and sounded truly annoyed and also bored. A rustle was heard as if wood was ground over the stone floor and the second voice waited a few seconds with its answer. First, Annabeth feared that he or she had heard them but was pleased when the conversation continued as if nothing happened.

"Yeah, yeah. You alwaysss say that and in the next sssecond you follow him around like a lap dog." The other voice muttered. It was deeper but obviously female, just like the other one. Annabeth smiled slightly at the growl the first voice made. Now they were in a fight. Perfect opportunity. The blonde peeked around the corner and spotted two Dracanae, both equipped with a spear. They were standing in front of a kind of door, a hole in the wall that was just perfect for an average human to fit through. Annabeth turned her head to her companions behind her and they all saw her smile.

"Stay here. I'll take the guards and look what they're standing there for." Thalia simply nodded at that suggestion and turned down any sign of protest from the others with a wink of her hand. It was so good to have her. The daughter of Zeus knew her best friend and what she could handle. It'd be so troublesome to convince the others. Especially because Jason was short before bursting out. He was like an electric bomb close to exploding. Annabeth could sense it. It was the anger for that monster that had taken his best friend. She knew the signs from when Percy got angry like that. At this state, impulsive children of the big three were sometimes just dangerous but certainly not any help with scouting out the area. He'd just end up jumping on some monsters back and then catch all the attention before they knew what they were dealing with.

So she just ignored their protest and put her cap on her head. She saw Jason's stunned face and had to smirk. It just reminded her of the first time Percy saw her- No, she really shouldn't think about him right now. She had to concentrate right now. The next moment, she found herself next to the guards. The two snake women were too busy discussing so they didn't notice the demigod pass her.

The next room she entered was a lot bigger than the corridor she had just been in. It was still eerily dark but from everywhere in the air, there where little lights coming and going. They were flowing through the air as if they were little ghosts, glowing brightly yellow and sometimes green.

"Ignis Fatuus…" Annabeth whispered, her grey eyes wide under her invisibility cap. There was no reason for them to be here…those things normally only appeared in swampy landscapes and tried to fool mortals –and sometimes demigods- into following them. Most of them were wicked minded, if you could call a little light minded at all. But they fooled the wanderers into certain death by showing them in the wrong direction. It was very rare for a Ignis Fatuus to actually be kind. Most of all, Annabeth didn't know if her invisibility would fool them at all. They didn't have eyes or something, the teenager didn't even know how they communicated at all. That's why she was now a little bit more afraid of those things than of the other two guards she could hear talking around the corner.

Two more female voices. Probably another two Scythian Dracanae. Normally, four of them weren't a problem at all. But Annabeth doubted that Leo was captured by them. She thought of the son of Hephaestus to be a lot stronger than that. So, who was leading them? When she listened carefully, the daughter of Athena was able to hear a voice from the back of the cave, probably beyond the room the other two guards were standing in. She had to get even closer. But those two other guards were now quiet. And if she didn't distract them, they would probably notice her scent when she passed, as they were probably watching out for demigod scent.

_Oh well. Let's confuse some monsters then…_Annabeth decided with a sigh and picked up some stones from the floor. This was probably the oldest trick in the history of tricks but she just hoped the snake women were stupid enough to fall for it. Lifting the stones in her hands, she crossed the empty room and stood at the side of the door. Next, she threw the stones over the head of one Dracanae and made it land exactly on the side wall of the room. From this position, she could see how the next room wasn't straight but divided in several corridors. The snake woman she could see seemed irritated by the noise that the stone had made and looked around her. Finally, she decided to ask her companion.

"Hey, did you hear that?" she asked and in that instant, Annabeth threw the second stone, this time a lot harder.

"There, again! Come on, maybe it's the demigods, using one of the other entrances." Oh, there were other entrances? Good to know. The daughter of Athena had to smile at this information.

"No, that's not possible. Remember, the boss left a trace for this entrance. I'm pretty sure they're not going to find the other entrances. Plus, they're not going to pass us, those little useless brats." She heard a laugh and Annabeth's expression became serious. This one seemed a little smarter. But she was underestimating her enemies, not a wise thing to do either. Without any hesitation, she threw the third stone as hard as she could in the direction of the Dracanae. But she didn't hit them –even though she was tempted- but instead something that made a lot more noise than the stone she hit before. Metal? She wasn't completely sure. But the monster now seemed angry all of the sudden.

"They're trying to break into the cages. Now come on, we have to check this out!" she now dragged the other guard along, the second one was complaining why she couldn't go alone all the way to the next corridor. Now there was nothing standing in her way anymore. Annabeth made sure her cap was still in place and then rushed through the open entrance the two snake women left so easily. She quietly thanked the gods for letting this work, remembered that they didn't get any help anymore and silently cursed over it once again.

Finally, the voice was getting louder. Just when Annabeth was about to understand what it was saying, it fell silent. The blonde looked around the room to judge which corridor would be the right one. She wisely ignored the little lights around her that seemed to swarm in a certain direction. They were just trying to fool her, she was now sure of it. They could sense her somehow, even though she was invisible. But that didn't matter right now. Because just in that moment, she heard him.

"A Basilisk? Aren't those normally giant snakes with a glare that killed you? As I recall, I'm still pretty much alive and I'm not stony at all." Leo. Oh thanks the gods, he was still alive. Annabeth couldn't say how glad she was about that. She had made it her fault to leave him alone, it was a good thing he was still save even if that made her wonder why. Wouldn't it be more effective to murder him right away so they god rid of their pilot? It was all a trap, she was more than sure of that from the moment they found the belt and the footprints.

But wait, what did he say? A Basilisk? That wasn't good…Slowly and now a lot more careful, Annabeth chose the path that was leading in the direction of Leo's voice. Just then, the monster spoke and its voice was spookily deep and it formed the 's' in a strange way.

"No, silly boy! That's just what that stupid child author made it! I already heard of it from my guards. But believe me, I'm also pretty deadly in a way…"

Suddenly, Annabeth reached another room. It was small but that was only because along the walls, there were several cells with metal bars rammed into the walls, making it nearly impossible to get them out. In one of these cells was Leo, in a sitting position, obviously free from any chains. Before his cage, there was standing the monster Annabeth had feared to be the one capturing him: The Basilisk. She had only read about it but having him in here wasn't really a good sign. She could try and stab him right now, being invisible and all. But she was pretty certain that this was useless, his lizard-like skin was so thick that no normal blade would make it through. They could try Thalia's spear or Jason could try it with electricity. But those were pretty much their only hopes for that. And as if that wasn't enough, his stare was almost deadly. It wouldn't kill you on the spot but you'd be paralysed for quite some time and that would certainly be enough time for him to kill you with his sharp claws.

And now, while the daughter of Athena was watching, the Basilisk stretched his head up in the air and breathed out. But there wasn't only air that was coming out of it. There was fire, blazing flames that seemed to warm up the whole room. The ghost lights around them seemed to freak out over it but Annabeth just stood there, keeping herself from sighing out loud. Great. Fire breath was added to the list of their problems. She heard Leo giving some answer but didn't pay further attention to it. She just turned around on her heels and ran to the entrance of the corridor back the way she came. Careful not to be too loud while running, she pulled out her knife now and went straight for an attack. The second group of Dracanae were already back at their post, obviously still fighting over the noise that had been nothing after all. Just when Annabeth was about to approach them, they looked up, probably catching up her scent.

"What-" that was the last thing she said because the next moment, she was run through in the chest by the blonde's invisible knife and the other one was too stunned to react so that she was able to stab her as well, this time by swirling around and hitting her throat. Dust sprayed everywhere but she was afraid that the stunned sound of the second one could alarm the other guards that were probably still inside the cave. So she ran forward and repeated the procedure with the two other guards. This time though, they noticed her even sooner, looking in her direction even. She had no time to worry about it and just brought them down before they could sound any kind of Alarm.

Finally, she reached for her cap and pulled it off, letting her blonde curls fall over her back again.

"Hey there, guys. I found him, he's alive and well even though I don't like the looks of the monster we have to face to get to him." She shrugged and stepped closer, just now noticing how they all stared at her and Thalia's eyes were fixed over her head. Jason was the first to speak. He had obviously not taken in all the information yet, his face utterly astonished.

"You just…with one stroke…and Leo.." he stopped and shook his head, quickly catching himself again. That dump look on his face right there reminded her of Percy for a second and how he looked when she appeared behind him at Capture the Flag when they were twelve. But Jason quickly got rid of it and looked like his regular self again.

"Sorry. I should probably be expecting that from you. So, what's the monster then?" he asked. Thalia beside him added something, pointing above Annabeth's head.

"And what's that thing over your head?" she raised one of her black eyebrows, obviously pretty amused and the blonde demigod followed her gaze. Suddenly, her own eyes went wide. No wonder the guards had noticed her that easily.

"Why did you follow me?" she whispered and tried to grab it, get rid of it. But the little light just kept flying around and her hand kept passing through it. It almost seemed vivid or like it had fun. Annabeth didn't think of it as funny. If that thing kept sticking onto her –for whatever reason- becoming invisible would be completely impossible.

"Styx." She stated and glared at the thing with one of her best deadly glares. But she had to ignore the little ghost light, maybe it would get going then when it wasn't funny anymore. And they had more important matters to attend right now any way.

"The monster's a Basilisk. Leo's in an electric cave so I want you or Jason to open it. We better get going now. I don't want to know what happens if we catch him prepared. Just a few things: Look for the weak spot in his skin, don't dare to look him in the eyes and please: Don't die." She smiled a sour laugh at the end and then turned around, stuffing her cap back into her jeans since it was pretty useless right now. The others followed her even though she sensed there were many questions. But they kept quiet, probably sensing how she wasn't in the mood to answer them or even talk. The little ghost light followed her. It was tiny compared to the others but it possessed a bright light nonetheless. Sometimes it even flew around Annabeth's head in cycles and one could see how pissed she was, tempted to punch the thing far down to Hades if she only could.

They passed the four guards. Their dust was already gathering again. The speed in which the monsters reformed was really getting worrisome. She didn't want to know what would happen if Gaea would ever awake. That had to be prevented. When they finally reached the big room, Annabeth already wanted to run around the corner when suddenly, she was hit in the chest by something that felt like stone and flew back quite a few meters. Luckily for her, Grover was able to catch her, even if he himself almost fell over. Her chest gave away a severe pain and she grabbed her shirt on instinct.

When Annabeth looked up, she saw a wall of fire approaching them at high speed, behind it she could barely make out a set of glowing yellow eyes…

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, I like making that sound xD. So, a wall of fire. How're they going to make it out of that without Leo? :/ And a light is following Annabeth, what does that mean? You'll see :D_

**Please tell me what you think (also of my suggestion above :3)! 8D**


	49. A Sword as a Lifeline

_January, 12th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, loyal readers :)_

_I'm very sorry about the late chapter :/ You see, I tried to upload on Tuesday but couldn't log in. Yesterday I wasn't able to go to my computer much (too much stress and little time) and today is the daaaay! You get Percy again, as you all wished for xD. And yeah, I know what happens now is strange. But remember who their opponent is, everthing is pretty much possible if it comes to mother earth ;P_

_Ah, about the pairing tensions out there: I'm going for Percabeth, no worries. But the story has a long way to go and Dakota and him are going to find a solution, don't worry. ;) And please don't beg me any more to "rush the story" I have sweet and catching scenes in storage and I won't leave them out just so I could write the reunion. That'd erase all the fun, wouldn't it? xP  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

_**Chapter XLIX**_

**Percy**

Several screams filled the stables that had just been so quiet. The soldiers from the Venus cabin that had been astonished by Percy's actions and talents just a second ago where now in sheer panic. No wonder, the roof had exploded and all horses that were still in the stables were now uncontrollable. Dust was everywhere and the son of Neptune was just able to know where he was by relying on his hearing and smell. The air smelled like horse and hay but his ears could hear screams, sounds he couldn't identify but also a breathing sound right beside him, heavy breathing and his fingers felt fur under them and a rapidly beating heart.

"_Shhh, Naira. We're escaping, okay? I'll climb your back now and we'll get out of here as fast as you can." _He said to the horse per thoughts and received a shaky neigh from the Pegasus. So Percy climbed her back like he had done nothing else in his entire life but rise a Pegasus without a saddle. He heard how Naira spread her wings and in the next second, they were out of the fog and up in the air. A trail of dust was behind them and now that the air was clear, the hero was able to see what had happened. And what he saw was simply unbelievable. He would have sworn on the river Styx to never have seen something likely to this but since his memory was still a black mass of uncertainness, he better left out the swearing part.

The stables were broken down, a big mass of thick fog was covering it. Some Pegasi were able to escape but as it seemed, none of them had a ride on them, Percy was the only soldier that managed to escape into the air immediately. Right in front of the stables, there was a…thing that was just impossible to exist. It was a giant skeleton –yes, a skeleton, he wasn't becoming crazy or something (he hoped)- that roughly looked like the upper half of a giant reptile, maybe a dragon. In the middle of its body it was melting with the earth, that now looked similar to what Percy had seen in the forest, where that mud face had appeared. The monster -or whatever that was -was coming right out of that mud and its arm was raised as if it had just punched something. It clicked in Percy's head. So this thing had just punched of the roof of the building? What the heck?

As if out of instinct, the green eyed demigod reached into his pocket and got out the pen he had in there since he awoke at the wolf house. The Son of Neptune now searched the dust for more soldiers and discovered that several had managed to get on their Pegasi and lift themselves into the sky. His green eyes searched the ground and the air for Dakota but was unable to spot her. The next moment, that big thing began to move again and Percy thought about all the people that were probably buried in that mess of stones and hay. He cursed –not noticing that he switched languages- and stirred Naira to the other side of the monstrous being, facing the back of its head. Following the instinct that it wouldn't matter, he threw Riptide on the back of the monsters head. It left no harm, however, he got the skeletons attention.

"Hey, you stupid bastard! I'm over heeere, come and get me!" he yelled on the top of his lungs and regretted it as soon as he did it. The thing was faster than he thought, turned around without a problem and swung its giant arms at him and Naira. The female Pegasus was luckily quite talented and managed to dodge the stroke pretty good. Percy himself was talented enough to not fall off, which was good enough for him but probably not for Naira's beautiful white mane, which he was grapping desperately.

"Whoa, close one." He admitted and took a short glance at the building. There, a grey Pegasus with a blond girl on top was flying out of the dimming fog. Percy and Naira had to dodge another attack but when they were stable again, Dakota was next to him. He was pretty glad that she was save…

"Thanks for buying some time, Percy, I managed to get the others out of there." She screamed over the wind and smiled at him. "I also guess that this thing can be seen around the whole Castra so I guess Reyna should be here soon!" Behind the former building, there could be seen several horses that escaped into the forest, which was definitely better than being here or in that ruin. Some of the animals looked hurt but they were still able to flee with the help of two or three Venus kids. But the monster noticed and while moving, it demolished the earth underneath him even more and began moving towards the next building, seemingly ready to destroy that one as well. As Percy could make out, it was the training ground for sword training.

"No time for that. We'll handle that ourselves." He said, certain of that decision when he felt his weapon return to him and took it out of his pocket, transforming it into the full size sword again. Dakota's mouth opened in protest and she looked like she was truly astonished by that decision. Why would anyone fight that thing without a strategy or a proper team? Reyna was right, Percy was really rebellious but in some way, he also resembled Jason. He made decisions like that, often more for others than himself. Still, she couldn't let him handle that alone! So she tried to protest.

"But-"

"We have no choice, Dakota! I don't care if she's mad at me for deciding for her but I'd rather have Reyna being angry at me than seeing people die down there." He said and in the next moment, he gave Naira the order to dive down and told Dakotas Pegasus to stay behind his for the time being. The daughter of Venus sighed and shook her head. So stubborn….but also so brave! She shook the though away and followed behind him, curious what he was up to. She had drawn her own weapon – a so called "Funda", a sling to throw imperial golden bullets at the opponent- and started throwing some of them at the skeleton like thing. Unfortunately though, it had little to no affect. Her attacks just seemed to annoy the thing and Dakota had to dodge several close calls with the sharp claws of the giant being.

"I told you to stay behind!" she heard Percy scream and could make out a worried tone. No surprise, the last swing of the monster claws almost got her.

"Like I'd let you go alone!" she yelled back and flung another bullet at the empty eyes of the monster. Again, no affect. Damn, what were they supposed to do? Percy had managed several terrific hits with his sword but the bones were not reacting or the strokes were so small they were barely visible. The two Pegasi came to a halt in midair far above the monster and the two demigods were looking down. Finally, after they caught a little air, Percy glanced over to her from the side.

"Dakota, stop trying to be the hero and let me handle this!" he said, a serious expression on his face. But Dakota was able to see how he acted strong even though she knew very well that his wounds weren't fully healed yet. Suddenly, her expression was angry and she threw him a deadly glance that could make Hazel's some competition.

"Oh and what are you doing then? Going alone when you're still wounded is not trying to be the hero or what? Forget it, I'm not backing away." The blonde crossed her arms and looked away from him, eyes closed. A moment passed and Percy then began to laugh, holding his stomach.

"Okay, you're right there. So us two-"

"-and us." Percy was interrupted. Behind them, there were several –if not all- Venus children together with their Pegasi. William was the one who had spoken and not only Dakota was astonished that he actually looked at Percy.

"Thanks for the distraction, we managed to get the other horses to safety." He said, smiling. Percy's green eyes blinked, irritated. But he quickly caught himself and smiled back. He guessed –or hoped- that the guy noticed he wasn't that bad after all. At least one of them, huh?

"Hey, no problem, man. Then let's kick some monster ass! You 6 go from the right, Dakota, William, the rest and me from the left!" he pointed at the demigods and then grabbed his sword tighter, telling Naira to dive down. Dakota and William followed him and they managed to keep the monster from moving further forward. While they had been talking, the thing had moved around and was now on his marry way to the white house. There was no way it could get there, it was their center, everything would be ruined. On its way, it had discovered the sword training area and was now about to smash that when Percy flew directly over his head.

He had a determined look on his face and without much thinking, he grabbed his sword with both hands and jumped off his horse and on the monster's head. He drove the blade down and smashed it into the monster's thick skull. It roared in Pain and even Percy seemed surprised that the sword actually managed to cut through.

Unfortunately, the skeleton didn't like swords in his skull and demigods on his head. So it lifted its hand and grabbed for Percy instead of the training area. _Not good_, Percy thought and managed to dodge just in time. A whole mass of bones that smelled like rotten flesh passed over his head and the Son of Neptune was lying flat on the floor while he didn't want to know what happened if the next handful of claws was nearing. So he hurriedly came to his knees and tried to pull Anaklysmos out of the skull. It was difficult to stand up at all because the thing was moving pretty rapidly.

"Percy! Percy, get out of there! Come on, what the heck are you _doing_!" Dakota yelled but Percy barely heard her. She passed over his head and stretched out a hand to get him when the other hand of the skeleton wanted to grab for Percy and the demigod had to think quick. The monster had learned from last time and this time tried to catch him from above, or rather smash him. Because when that one hit, _his_ bones wouldn't survive that! His only option was to dodge it to the side…but there was the other hand, coming from the left. Crap!

What he now did was out of pure instinct. He turned around as fast as he could and ran for his life, then jumped forward and slid down the skull in a normally painful way. Luckily, his skin was still as invulnerable as ever so his jeans were the only ones being harmed. By a hair's breadth, the skeleton hands missed him and even though that was positive, he had reached a part of the skull that was so steep that he couldn't stand anymore and made his way down the monster's neck without being able to influence it. The thought of stabbing the skull with his sword again to get a hold came too late and before he knew if, he was free falling.

Due to the wind that peeled his skin, Percy was barely able to see below him and notice the giant vertebra and ribsthat would pierce him as soon as he made contact with them. He screamed without noticing and turned around in mid air, trying to grab onto at least _something_. As if he was just lucky, his right hand clutched onto something and his falling came to a halt even though his shoulder wasn't quite lucky about that sudden ache he received. A cry of pain escaped his lips and desperately grabbed on that something with his other hand because his right shoulder wouldn't respond. Oh Styx, that wasn't good…he felt like blacking out. That abrupt halt had seemed to hit his wound pretty bad and it hurt like Hades even though it had "just" been poisoned. His breath was heavy and he didn't even notice what he was grabbing at until he heard wings behind him. The demigod slowly turned his head and noticed Naira nearing from behind, trying to reach him even though the monster seemed to be screaming his big ass off.

Until then, he didn't even notice how loud the thing was screaming. The sound echoed around the whole valley and even though it seemed to be in rage, it didn't move at all, at least not from what he could see from this position. Confused, Percy looked up at what he was desperately clinging to and his seagreen eyes widened. It was a sword…a really large one that was pinned into a little hole right beyond the monster's skull. While the black haired boy was holding onto it, the blade was glowing purple and radiated some kind of Aura the demigod didn't really like. In the next second, Naira was there and Percy was up in the air again. The two of them came to a halt in midair far above the monster and the Son of Neptune could finally oversee everything again. While he had been on the monster, the rest of the camp had arrived. He could spot Reyna and saw her yelling around orders and other people attacking the monster. It looked like ants trying to hurt a human with tiny little toothpicks. And it had about that much affect as well. Percy cursed silently and rubbed his shoulder in pain.

"_You better not do that again, you're helpless in the air without me_." Naira said and neighed resentfully. Still in thought, the teenager nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you're damn right there, Naira…I'll stay glued to your back from now on." He sighed and supported his upper body by bracing his left hand to Naira's back and moved his right shoulder in circles really slowly so it would relax a little.

Next to Percy, Dakota appeared on her grey Pegasus. She had an expression on her face that was between worry and relieve.

"You idiot! What the heck were you thinking, you could've gotten yourself killed!" her blue eyes glared at him as if wasn't sure whether to hug or kill him. The decision was taken away when three of her half siblings appeared behind her.

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid, indeed." William said and shook his head. Then he tiled his unusually beautiful face and lifted one of his perfect eyebrows. "So, how did you achieve that the thing stopped moving?" he asked and pointed at the monster with his thumb.

Percy shrugged and then grinned. "I guess I'm that awesome." He said and his grin went wider. Now William seemed pissed and Percy lifted his hands. Man, these people seriously needed some lesson of humour.

"Alright, alright. Just joking. There, do you see that thing sticking out right between its skull and the spine? I grabbed onto that and that's what happened." William tried to focus onto the sword with his eyes and then spoke again.

"Is that…a sword?" he asked and seemed pretty irritated. Percy just nodded and the demigod next to him crossed his arms, glaring at Percy.

"Great, and how does that help us defeat that thing? It's indestructible!" he said and pointed down at the troops that were still trying to harm the monster. Reyna seemed in a little bit of distress because the skeleton was moving again and now smashed its giant hands onto the ground, leaving the soldiers almost no option other than to dodge.

Despite the desperate situation and his hurting shoulder, Percy began to grin again as if that was no problem at all.

"That's easy. All we have to do is remove the sword!"

* * *

_Yeah. As always, Percy and his stupid moves...Well well, let's see if he can come up with one of these "smart" plans of his again :D We'll see in the next two chapters this weekend ^^_

**Again, please tell me what you think! I'm dying to know :3**


	50. Angry Mother Wolf

_January, 15th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, loyal readers :)_

_I'm really glad you stick with me this far :3 If I had the time, I'd answer every one of your reviews but I'm busy with university stuff and happy that I at least manage to keep my promise and upload two times this weekend ^^ . I really hope you are enjoying this, it's a little monster fighting here and there and a little Gwen-Percy friendship. Ah, I somehow like this chapter ^^ Hope you do too :3_

_Btw, I'm sorry if some of you are really waiting for the "reunion". It's come for sure but this is still about the story I thought of and (hopefully) not the normal Son of Neptune Fanfic you get where everything's perfect and they kiss and laugh and stuff. I intended this all to have a background and a serious ending/plot. Hope not all of you want the romance that bad :/_

_HORRAYYY, CHAPTER 50 AND ALMOST 600 REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU GUYS *hugs*  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter L**

**Percy**

„_Remove_ it? You do know that the thing is freaking out right now? It'll kill us as soon as we get close to it!" William shook his head in disbelieve and stared at Percy as if he was from another planet. It was true, the skeleton monster was hitting and swirling around like crazy, making it almost impossible to grab anything on it, much more remove the sword. The greeneyed demigod on the other hand just shrugged and grabbed for his pen, transforming it into his sword.

"Alright. If you guys are too much of a pussy to do it, I'll go. Naira, you ready?" he asked his Pegasus and heard an approving neigh.

"Great. You guys just help distracting it." He said and gave Dakota an assuring smile as if telling her it would be alright. She did look pretty worried after all. Percy could kind of understand it. He was wounded, his Pegasus had been inactive for pretty long and that monster seemed very much out of control, it had already managed to destroy the sword training area and Reyna's soldiers had their problems with it. But the son of Neptune just took a deep breath and then dived down without further hesitation.

"WHAT? We're no-"

"Give it a rest, he's already gone." Dakota interrupted the outrageous William but Percy could hear that she had to suppress a laugh. It made himself smile though the thing he was about to do was nothing to laugh at all.

"_So, my Lord, what's your plan?"_ Naira asked and Percy could hear that she was nervous. Sure she was, the last fight with a demigod on her back had ended deadly for said demigod. The hero on her back right now certainly didn't want to repeat that. But he wanted to be honest to his new Pegasus so he sighed.

"It's crazy. And you're not going to like it." He admitted and bit his lip.

"_Tell me, my Lord, I'm sure we can manage."_ The female Pegasus said confidently. But even though she pretended to be okay, when Percy told her the plan, she wasn't thrilled at all. While talking, they flew in circles over the head of the monster, waiting for the distraction to kick in. When it did, Naira finally agreed. The son of Neptune felt bad for dragging her into his crazy idea but she seemed determined to try anyway.

They dived down through the biting wind and Percy grabbed into his pocket just to find his sword there, reassuring him he had it if anything came up. But he left it there, this maneuver didn't need any sword besides the one he wanted to grab. At least he hoped so. When Naira was close enough to the sword, they did the air roll. Dodging a swing of a giant monster head, they finally reached the neck save and sound. The Son of Neptune shot his hands forward and grabbed the sword, trying to pull it out. Unfortunately, the monster could move this time. Percy had no idea why but it had no problem to lift its hand and swing it towards them even though the other Venus children tried to keep it from doing so. Like in slow-motion, the hand came towards him and his horse. He could swear time slowed down and even Naira didn't see the giant bones coming at them so fast. Green eyes widened and he pulled much harder, with all his might, both hands at the gigantic sword. While the fingers of bones came closer and closer.

Suddenly, he had the sword in hand. The teenager was thrown backwards because of the effort it had taken to pull on that thing and Naira was thrown back as well. Lucky for them. Percy was hit by one of the bones but since it hit the side of his body that wasn't hurt, it just bounced off like everything did when he was being touched by something sharp. Unluckily, Naira was also hit by a bone –the middle finger as far as Percy could see. She neighed in pain and Percy got some blood on his legs when the horse was wounded on almost her whole side.

"No!" Percy cried out and tried to steer the horse away from the other hand that was about to come and try to get them killed. Right in this moment, the effect of the sword removal kicked in. Dust was falling from the spot where the sword had just been and the giant skeleton stopped to move. Just like that, dust fell everywhere and the monster crumbled right before their eyes. If it was pure luck or a god helping, Percy didn't know but somehow, the wind blew the monster dust in the direction of the sea and got almost everything to hit the water there. Out of breath and with a severely hurt Pegasus, The son of Neptune finally managed to reach the ground next to Reyna and the others, who all looked pretty shaken and ready to drop over. Reyna was the only one not showing how finished off she was. She stemmed her hands into her hips and glared at Percy with all her might.

"Percy Jackson! Who the heck told you to do that? Look what you've done, you freed a dangerous Pegasus, got the whole other Pegasi in danger, almost got yourself killed and now even hurt the said Pegasus! Would you PLEASE explain who gave you the permission to leave the infirmary?" her brown eyes bored into his but this time, he wasn't intimidated. He just stared back at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What, it helped, am I right? And I asked to get out of there because I needed fresh air. As you can see, I'm just fine. Gwen, please help me out here.." he turned around, further ignoring the daughter of Mars, who didn't like that at all. She breathed in heavily, seemingly ready to explode. Already taking a step forward, she was interrupted by Dakota, who got off her Pegasus and now grabbed Reyna by the shoulder.

"Reyna, please. He saved all of our lives, don't you think you could be a little nicer to him? I'm sure he meant no disrespect…at least not on purpose." She smiled slightly while Gwen nodded and stepped closer to the Pegasus. She seemed unsure if the horse was willing to be touched. Obviously, the stories of Naira throwing people off her back was one of the popular ones around here. Percy just smiled and shook his head.

"Hey, it's alright. She says she doesn't mind." Percy said and smiled at Gwen. The daughter of Apollo just raised her eyebrows and looked at him funny as if to say _"Yeah right… and after that I'll have to check your brain as well I guess!"_ but she stepped closer anyway.

Reyna on the other hand didn't seem happy with Dakota calming her. She crossed her arms and kept glaring at the black haired boy, lips pursed.

"_Meant no disrespect. Yeah, sure. Several monster attacks since he came and he just keeps doing what he wants and gets others and himself almost killed. Like we need one of those guys around. I'm beginning to understand why we learn that children of Neptune are signs for bad luck."_ She mumbled under her breath but Percy was very aware to understand her. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at Reyna and wanted to ask what she meant by that, when suddenly, a wave of pain emitted from his shoulder. He hadn't realized how much his body hurt until now. He felt tired and worn out and his neck stung as if someone was hitting it with a knife like a madman. Wincing, he glided to the ground and leaned his back to Naira's legs.

"_My Lord! Are you alright? Did the monster get you as well?"_ Naira asked and sounded panicked. Percy just shook his head and even had to give away a sour laugh.

"_Why are you worried? I'd assume you're angry at me for letting you get hurt and risk the air roll again even though you're still not comfortable with that due to bad experiences. I'm sorry, Naira, I shouldn't have got you into that…"_ he thought, not wanting to admit to Reyna that he could talk to horses yet. She already thought he was bad luck, not that she actually assumed he had totally lost his mind. He'd probably end up back in the infirmary or finally the prison or something. Naira now just neighed and shook her mane, causing Gwen to jump and stop healing. She noticed Percy sitting on the ground and breathed In heavily. Reyna and the others had turned away, taking notes of the damages that had to be fixed and managed the wounded that needed to be healed.

"_Why would I be mad at you, my Lord? You saved the camp, that was very noble. I can manage the roll now, we can do it as many times as you want me to!"_ even though blood escaped from the wound on her side, she sounded happy somehow and Percy was just glad to hear that, smiling.

"What're you smiling about, your wound is hurting again, right? Lemme see that…" Gwen sounded severely worried and stopped healing Naira. She bowed down to him and pulled away his – pretty torn- shirt to look at his shoulder. Percy just laughed drily and tried to get her hands away.

"No, I'm alright. Please keep healing Naira, she needs it more than I do. And the rest of camp can probably need your awesome powers as well." He smiled but Gwen just shook her head stubbornly.

"As if. I'll first take care of your shoulder, it's my fault you got out of the infirmary in the first place!"

"Oh come on, Gwen. Now you're acting like my mother. I'm alright, really." As if to prove his point, Percy started to get up and stroke off Gwen's hand, that had started to glow like she was about to chant. Suddenly, she really pulled her hand away quickly. Her gaze was dropping to the ground and she seemed pretty far away with her thoughts.

"Right…heal the horse." She whispered and turned away from Percy in the blink of an eye. His seagreen eyes looked at her confused and he stepped beside her when she started chanting again. ("Oh Apollo, God of the sun, please lend me your power to heal, energy drawn from the sun blabla." Same stuff as last time) He studied her and noticed how down she suddenly seemed. Her shoulders hung down and she had lost that shine in her green eyes that had kept her the luckiest and friendliest person Percy had seen around her. Next to Dakota maybe. The son of Neptune lifted his eyebrows and stepped closer.

"Hey, did I…say something wrong?" he asked awkwardly and gulped nervously. He only had two friends in this camp, it maybe wasn't a good plan to scare both of them off in one day.

"_Sure did. She seems upset to me."_

"_Oh shush up, Naira. Not helping."_

"_Yeah, sorry, my Lord…"_

Aside from his quiet conversation with his Pegasus, Gwen kept quiet for some time. She seemed to think about what to say to him. Finally, she sighed.

"No, it's not your fault. It's just…you were talking about mothers. I didn't really get close with mine when I was a kid…" she finally said quietly and bit her lip as if she regretted saying it as soon as it was out.

"What, why?" Somehow, that was strange to him. He had the feeling as if he and his mother had a good relationship. Yeah, for sure. And he was also pretty sure that she had to be out of worry for him now, wherever she lived and whoever she was. But it also didn't seem new to him that demigods weren't all friendly with neither their mortal nor their immortal parent. He wanted to ask further, when he suddenly had the feeling of a piercing glance in his neck. He turned around quickly on instinct, just to see Lupa, standing there and watching him with her intense silver eyes as if she stood there for ages, centuries or even more.

Still not good at reading wolf-expressions, Percy found her stare difficult to read. But somehow, he had a bad feeling about this. The teenager quickly stroke his shirt over his bandage and took a step back from Naira, looking as innocent as he could.

"_Oh no. No good stare…Can I flee now, my Lord?"_

_"Again, not helping, Naira! And no, stay where you are."_ He replied and still tried to return the stare Lupa gave him, even if it wasn't really easy. He saw horrible things in her eyes, soldiers dying, training, battles raging…and suddenly, he thought of himself through her eyes. A reckless soldier, not following orders and now even flying Pegasi that he wasn't supposed to fly because he was to be in the infirmary. Plus, as a son of Neptune, due to Reyna, he was bad luck… Suddenly, Lupa spoke and her voice seemed overly controlled, as if she was containing something and the silverish glow around her was more intense than ever.

"Percy Jackson…I think we need to talk."

* * *

_Uuuh, danger there? We'll see what the wolf has to say next time ;P Look foward to that, I'm guessing you're going to like the next chapter. Let's say we'll get a little action :D Btw, I wanted Naira to have a little attitude as well. I love it when Blackjack talks back to Percy and I think Naira should be a little like that. Not fully, but a little XD_

**Now please tell me what you think, I really wanna know :3**


	51. Flaming Valdez

_January, 16th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, loyal readers :)_

_YAAAY! 50 Chapters and 600 Reviews, guys! That makes 12 per chapter, that's **really** great! :3 AND it's a year for this fanfiction now :D I love you guys so much, **thank you**! *hus*_

_As a celebration, I want you to tell me extra much if you're bored by what I do (because I keep getting reviews telling me to finally write that "goddamn" reunion) or if I should keep going like I planned. Just interested. Here's a Greek chapter now, it's getting cool on this side -in my opinion at least. Because of the whole monster-fighting-thing. Hope you have the same opinion xP_

_Btw Wbf24: There will be Nico ^^ Don't worry, he'll have his brave appearing moment ;P  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

_**Chapter LI**_

**Thalia**

The daughter of Zeus couldn't believe it. They were actually fighting to free this little idiot who got himself captured by a Basilisk. This quest was really getting messed up and it was only their first day of travel. She didn't want to know what would come next. In case they got out of this rotten cave so to speak.

It was difficult to hold her brother back from following Annabeth. Of course, that hot head was after all his best friend since he joined their camp. But still, Thalia knew Annabeth and what she could do. Having Jason join her wouldn't do them any good. In some ways, he did really resemble Percy even though on the other hand, they weren't alike at all. She wondered what would happen if the two of them met. Their relationship would be pretty important for the outcome of…well, the whole world. If Jason and Percy didn't get along at all, they could forget about joining forces with the Romans.

But that wasn't important right now. Thalia held her spear and shield in hand, sneaking through the cave right behind Annabeth as soon as she returned. That little light over her friends head distracted her and she seriously wondered what it was until she saw the other ones. They were all over the cave and illuminated it in a very strange way. Unfortunately, the daughter of Zeus couldn't focus on the lightning system very long because suddenly, Annabeth flew past her, letting out a surprised sound and landing in Grovers arms. Oh no, that couldn't be good…

Thalia turned around and saw the wall of flames closing in. Great. From all the elements that monster could use, it _had_ to be fire. Now they could use that hot headed son of Hephaestus. Or even better, Percy. No, she wasn't dependent on her little cousin! Her muscles tensed and her blue eyes became serious, reflecting the firelight. This was something else. She wasn't in the air right now. Plus, just as Jason had told her a few minutes ago, there was a strange wind blowing inside of this cave. Even though the hunter wasn't used to using air magic –or however you called that stuff- she had to try. In a split second needed, she folded her spear back and held of her shield in a defensive position, motioning her other arm to the center of their group. From the corner of her eye, Thalia saw her brother do a similar move, just the other way around.

Seemingly, her fighting senses had kicked in because everything seemed to occur in slow motion. The fire wall neared, Thalia saw the yellow eyes and tried to not look into them directly. First, she thought that her magic trick hadn't worked because she may have imagined the strange wind and there had never been one. But then, something happened. A powerful gust hit them all from the side and slammed the fire directly with full force. Black hair flew around her face but she quickly shoved it aside so she could see better. Jason and her now stood out front and Thalia brought her weapon back out. The wind still blew and surely made them look awesome, both children of Zeus/Jupiter standing there back to back. She turned around to check if Annabeth was alright. She seemed a little in pain but was standing up again. Good. The blonde would be back to normal with a bit of Nectar later on. The hunter could never forgive herself if anything happened to Annabeth on this mission. She as her best friend sensed that she wasn't in her right state of mind and Thalia now more than ever felt the urge to play her role as a bigger sister. Plus, if Percy remembered anything, he would probably never forgive her if anything happened to his wise girl. That thought made her lips form an ironic smile.

Jason's blue eyes caught hers and brought her out of her thoughts. Seemed like he noticed how his sister had managed to finally make proper use of her air powers. But she had to admit that she still wasn't really content with the usage. She definitely preferred lightning over wind. Just the thought of using these powers to fly like Jason could…no, that was really not her thing.

Now that the fire was gone, they could see the monster. To be honest, Thalia had seen worse. It practically looked like a giant leech. But she assumed that as Annabeth said, there was more to this monster than you saw at first glance. If he was immune to regular weapons, their victory would depend on Jason and her powers only. Then again, wasn't there something Annabeth said about Leo's cave being electrified? That was -to be honest- one of her specialties. She eyed her brother from the side and how he madly glared at the chest of the monster, not able to look into his eyes but desperate to punish whoever did that to Leo. So Thalia finally sighed and lifted her battle stance.

Turning her head to Annabeth, she nodded to the daughter of Athena quickly and then made her way sideways, seemingly confusing the monster since it had focused on Jason and her. It tried to grab or slash Thalia from the side but Jason was faster, she heard Grover's flute now as well and how Annabeth began to order the others around. Perfect. She glanced forward now and found the entrance to the cave room pretty soon. Her breath calmed down quickly and she stepped forward to see if Leo was in one of the caves. The second one was a hit. The son of Hephaestus sat there and fingered something a skeleton was wearing around its arm.

"What the heck are you doing there?" the hunter asked and raised her eyebrows, shaking her head. She knew the kid was a freak but this…outstood everything. Leo jumped, seemingly not aware of her presence. Then he turned around and smiled wickedly.

"Oh, just getting a spare weapon. So, same question for you. Here to free me?" he grinned and let go of the skeleton, strapping the thing on his own arm. It looked like a normal, long bracelet out of bronze to Thalia so she wondered what kind of weapon it would make and how Leo could be sure it was one. After all, it didn't look like it and she didn't think that whoever owned this cave would leave a weapon inside of one of the prisons. When Thalia wanted to just nod and reach for the lock, Leo suddenly spoke again, another one of those grins on his face that made him look like the flirting idiot he just was. Honestly. She knew Percy and he sometimes had a smirk on his face as well that told you he had a bad joke on his tongue again but her cousin was never in his entire life as bad and stupid as this one here. And that would mean something if _she_ actually made Percy of all people a compliment.

"So, the most beautiful one comes to save me? I'm really honored. But be careful, the lock-"

"Oh just shut up, will ya? Take that, eat and let me work." She took out some Ambrosia from her pocket –she always had something with her- and tossed it to Leo. Her face was angry and he probably got that she didn't want to talk about how beautiful she was right now. Not that she ever wanted that. The hunter kneeled down and grabbed the lock with a tight grip, ignoring the electricity that should probably have given her severe pain. She took out her hunting knife and carefully put the edge of the knife in the slit of the lock. After turning it around a bit and putting a whole lot of lightning power into it, the thing cracked open immediately. Thalia smiled relieved and took out another object from her pocket. Reaching out again, she glared at the son of Hephaestus.

"Here, treat your wound. I'm not going to bandage you there." She said and looked down at the wound on his hip that was bandaged with his jacket. That wasn't really a good way to treat wounds that bled so much he left a behind him. The Latino opened his mouth to say something stupid again but Thalia cut him off.

"Save it. And make it quick, I don't like leaving my little brother in charge of the fight all the time. See you there." She quickly made sure no monster was able to enter this cave from any other entrance to the room and then stood up and left, pretty sure that the hot head could walk on his own. He didn't complain after all, just murmuring something to himself and beginning to unwrap the jacket from his hip.

Glad he didn't want her to stay, Thalia now began to run, already reaching out for her bow and arrow. She hid around the corner of where the fight could be heard and made sure Annabeth would see her. The blonde already stood again, her knife in hand although she still seemed a little weak. But she noticed the hunter soon enough and smiled, understanding. The daughter of Athena gestured to Jason to fall back and Thalia collected energy inside of her bow, waited a short moment and then stretched out the weapon from around the corner, aiming in the blink of an eye and then shooting at the monster's eye with a perfect shot full of lightning.

Unfortunately, that monster was quite something. Meaning that it was fast. Even though Thalia's arrow wasn't exactly the slowest, the Basilisk lifted his arm just in time to catch the arrow with his claws. The hunter saw the lightning search through his hand but the beast just ignored it, gleaming at her when Thalia averted her eyes just in time. In the next second, the arrow was broken by the monster's hands and Thalia had to dodge the edge of it flying towards her.

Gods. That thing was nearly immune to lightning. It breathed fire and they couldn't look it into the eye directly. How the heck where they supposed to beat it? Thalia's mind worked hard and she knew that her best friend and daughter of the goddess of battle strategies was working on a solution as well. Judging from the look on Annabeth's face, there wasn't much progress there though. Grover played his flute, annoying the monster by trying to wrap him up in plants and making it just more difficult because the Basilisk started to breath fire as soon as a plant wrapped around its feet.

"Haha. That won't work, won't work at all! You little flies want to beat me? Do you know why my mistress awakened me? Exactly because of that, my dear demigods. Because I'm invincible!" He breathed again and Annabeth had a close call with another wall of fire closing up on her. She cursed and now landed on the floor next to Thalia who had now drawn Aegis and her spear to fight.

"Yeah, right. There is no monster alive without a weak point. I'll find yours, don't you worry." Annabeth sounded grimly, her eyes glaring at a spot shortly beneath the monster's neck. Thalia nodded and stepped up in front of her partner to block another fire breath with her shield.

"You got a plan?" she asked without lifting her gaze from the monster. She jumped forward and faked an attack with her spear while Jason and Piper attacked from the other side and hit the monsters flanks. Again, no effect. The daughter of Athena behind her sighed.

"Yeah but they all just won't work. I already tried two or three but there is no freaking weak spot. We hit almost every part of the body and didn't receive any reaction. He's not even getting." She was speaking quietly so just the huntress could hear her. Her voice was almost desperate and it was new for Thalia to hear her friend giving up that early. On the other hand, she was right. The Basilisk seemed to have fun with them, just play with them and the daughter of Zeus could see how the others in her team were getting tired, already had a few wounds or burns on their bodies. They wouldn't hold out much longer and it wasn't helping that they couldn't look their enemy in the eye because he was constantly trying to go for eye contact. Once that happened, it would be their end. Unfortunately, it was only a matter of time until that happened and they all knew that.

Okay, she admitted, their situation really was desperate.

Nonetheless, they kept attacking. Again, again and again. Even though it seemed like hours, only a few seconds or minutes passed and Thalia was beginning to wonder what that hot head was doing, he should have been here by now. But she had to concentrate because in this very moment, a dire situation arose. Yuki, Piper, Annabeth and Jason were attacking again. Piper was distracting the monster with her voice, having put much power in it while Annabeth tried to sneak attack on the monster's back with her invisible cap. Grover played his flute and wrapped a few plants around the monsters feet so he couldn't move away. Annabeth hit him with his blade but was pushed backwards by the monsters arm that spun around in a wide swing, knocking aside Annabeth and on top of that, Yuki's blade that was just about to also hit the Basilisk skin. The thing turned to Yuki, grinning. It breathed in slowly while the daughter of Khione stood there, wide eyed and without a weapon. Thalia's eyes widened. She was dead. Oh no, this couldn't be happening! The daughter of Zeus jumped forward, heard the others scream but couldn't hear what they said. She already lifted Aegis, when a movement behind the monster made her stop.

An orange blur rose behind the monster and the black haired demigod could see a blade glimmering, a bronze blade. While the monster still breathed in, Leo had jumped on the monster's neck and swung something that was seemingly around his right arm directly at the throat of their enemy. The Basilisk turned around, breathed right in Leo's face while the son of Hephaestus just grinned and swirled the fire around him. With his grin still on his face and the flames circling around the strange weapon, the blade neared the monsters throat and the Basilisk opened his eyes in shock, looking directly into Leo's brown ones…

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, I love saying that XD Sry. Nooow, Leo has a plan? Or is striking without one? Who knows with him :D We'll see next chapter XD Btw, I used up the ones I had in storage so everything you're reading now is really new and probably not double checked for spelling and grammar. So if you find something, tell me please xP_

**Otherwise, please still tell me what to think, I can take it! Even if it's going to be difficult to hear sometimes ^^"** Good night now, I have to study for a test tomorrow (totally not wants to)


	52. Another Close Call

_January, 20th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, loyal readers :)_

_*Sigh* It's 4 in the morning, so why am I still up? Because I want to give you the chapter you deserve XD No, well, there are other reasons but I wanted to do it because I don't feel like breaking my promise to you :3 I really hope you appreciate the chapter even though it's Greek. I tried to get a little action but also keep the tension. Well, I hope I succeeded because I just finished writing this. So please tell me if you find errors. I'm tired x_x_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LII**

**Annabeth**

Was she dreaming? The daughter of Athena began to think that this son of Hephaestus was just as stupid and reckless as Percy when it came to battle. He just jumped up to the Basilisk and tried to cut him with…whatever that thing was on his arm. It had flames around it and the light lit the room even brighter than the light over Annabeth's head (yeah, it was still there. Don't ask.) or the breath of the Basilisk could.

She couldn't help but stare as Leo's "plan" actually seemed to work out. Even if it really wasn't that much of a plan rather than a reckless action, the blade suddenly cut right through the monster skin and Annabeth's eyes widened in shock as he watched the head drop off and realized that Leo had been looking straight into its eyes shortly before hitting it. Oh Styx, that wasn't good. Quickly, Annabeth made sure that the head disintegrated into dust –you never know it it's not like medusa's head and will get you killed once you look at it even after it's killed- and then rushed forward. The blonde was the first to get over her shock and she actually managed to catch the falling Leo, who seemed to be paralyzed.

"Styx. He looked him in the eye. This isn't good…" she reached for her backpack and felt Leo's forehead. The son of Hephaestus still had the determined look on his face that he just had when striking the monster but his eyes moved as if he was in panic. Understandable. Nobody liked to be forced not to move a muscle. She remembered Kronos being able to do that to his surroundings and that thought made her shudder. Then the others rushed to her side.

"You did it! Leo, how'd you do that, it didn't even react to our blades!" Piper exclaimed and smiled at Leo even though that quickly faded when she realized her curly haired friend couldn't move. Jason was just as relieved, they were probably both glad he was alive at all.

"Yeah, that was awesome! Where'd you get that blade anyway? Can't be out of your belt." Jason fixed his gaze on the blade around Leo's arm. It looked like it came out of an arm plate that probably once belonged to an armor or something. The blade itself shimmered slightly red and had a bronze color. It shaped around Leo's arm perfectly so it looked like he had a blade planted on the side of his arm. Annabeth rarely saw that kind of weapon but had to admit that it looked pretty decent do her. And Jason was right. This thing was out of celestial bronze, there was no way that could come out of his magical tool belt. Annabeth knew that the thing didn't deliver anything that powerful. But where…

Out of nothing, the cave began to shake, the ground rumbled as if somebody shook it with all their might.

"Guys, I guess we have to talk about this later!" Thalia summed up and Annabeth just nodded, asking Jason if he could carry Leo. She swirled around to see if the monster had picked something (like some monsters did, as a symbol of defeating it) and picked up a small object she wasn't able to identify because she had to stand up as fast as she could. Somehow, she now regretted going in this cave even more. It was practically underground and now Gaea had full control over their wellbeing. She cursed in ancient Greek and hoped that none of them was paying any attention to what she was mumbling. However, she still leaded the group, seeing that she had the best memory of where they came from. Despite the fact that Annabeth had only taken one way in this cave, this thing suddenly looked like it was an underground maze –which wasn't exactly raising her hopes. Her bad experiences with mazes underground didn't really let her want to stay here.

Without further thinking about it, they had started to run as fast as they could. The good news: They made it out of the fighting room alive without the ceiling crushing them. The bad news: Not only was the ceiling crumbling but the entrances seemed to be shifting. Coming to a halt, Annabeth breathed heavily and so did her friends behind her.

"Which way?" Grover asked desperately, seemingly as confused as she was. He was beginning to chew on his own jacket, which certainly wasn't something to be happy about, seeing as he only did something like that when he was nervous.

"I-I don't know…" she admitted. Annabeth hated not knowing. Helplessly, she watched as the ceiling began to crumble just behind them and the corridors seemed to lead to nowhere and then again nowhere. Why by all means had this monster taken Leo to a cave? Well, she had assumed this was a trap all along, right? And now she had to pay the prize for now listening to herself.

"I think it's that way." Jason suddenly said, he just dodged a boulder that was about to drop onto him, which seemed twice as hard with Leo as a weight on his back. He nodded straight ahead and had an eyebrow raised as if he wasn't exactly sure.

"What? Why? How do you-"

"Come_ on_, we don't have time to think about that!" Annabeth shouted and grabbed Piper by the arm so she couldn't question Jason any further. She was glad to have a hunch at least. This was the corridor she had wanted to go through anyway but it had seemed like the tunnels were changing. For a short moment, she had really feared they were back into the labyrinth but that wasn't exactly possible. Maybe it was the mist or something? Anyway, Jason was a powerful demigod, maybe he sensed something. Or he was guessing, who knew. Most important was, Annabeth had long decided to trust him. Even though it was still strange to have him instead of Percy around, Jason seemed to at least be reliable.

Behind them, next to the rumbling sound of the collapsing cave, voices could be heard. No human voices, that was for sure. So they had already sent for reinforcements? How were they supposed to tell from which direction these came? Luckily, they didn't run into any of them and from one moment to the other, they stood at a unfamiliar clearing and breathed heavily as the entrance crushed behind them. Just before the rocks fell onto it, Annabeth was able to spot another strawberry plant. There had been another one on the entrance they had used. What was this supposed to mean anyway? She looked around the clearing and noticed that the sun was already setting. She hadn't exactly realized how fast time had passed.

"Wow…that was close." Piper's statement pretty much summed up their cave adventure. After they shortly caught their breath, Annabeth took a guess and steered them into the direction she thought the plane would be. This entrance was farther away from their starting point than Annabeth had guessed and she was in worry for the reinforcements to catch up the whole time it took them to get to the plane.

Finally, the big pile of snow and plants showed up in front of them. If Annabeth had just been rushing by, she wouldn't have recognized the thing under the leaves and snow. Grover and Yuki took down the snow as fast as they could. They all helped as best as they could and then rushed inside. Closing the doors, Annabeth thought about who would fly now, when Leo was still motionless. This intense stare without his goggles on was probably enough to knock him out for several hours, if not more than a day. And they didn't have time to waste, there was no way Gaea was sending them a reinforcement that was easy to fight and they were mostly out of breath and torn. This day had enough trouble in it. She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking if she herself would have the wits to fly an airplane as big as this. She had once did it with a helicopter to save Rachel but that was nothing compared to this.

Jason was the one to interrupt her thoughts.

"I'll do it." He said and sat Leo down on one of the sofas. He looked a little pale although Annabeth assumed that they all looked like that.

"What? You can fly a plane?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, unsure if she was going to believe that. But Jason just shrugged.

"I assume I could…you told us your boyfriend can steer a ship with his mind, right?" he said but Annabeth just slowly shook her head, frowning.

"An assumption isn't good enough, Jason. You could kill us all. I guess you can't really compare that to Percy's powers…" she wanted to weight the options against each other faster, when suddenly Grover's voice came from over by the window.

"Well, you better let Jason try, we're getting company!" he said, munching some furniture from the canapé, his eyes in nervous slits. Annabeth nearly jumped over to the window and her eyes widened. Holy Zeus, those were more than she thought there would be! Outside in the forest, something like a mass invasion came from between the trees and stormed to the plane. It was hard to see because it was almost dark right now. They couldn't possibly fight in the dark, only the monsters would be able to see. It would be their doom if they got here in time…There were only fifty meters left until that happened and this fact didn't really reassure Annabeth about their safety. She wanted to shout at Jason to hurry up and do it, when she realized that he was already gone and the engine roared to life in the next second.

She never found out how the guy did it, but even though they were almost surrounded by forest, Jason managed to get them into the air. Annabeth warned him to keep his speed down and don't fly that high since they weren't the best at reading the radars, which seemed to have taken a rough hit at their last crash with that tree back in Springfield. Annabeth wondered why Leo hadn't told them about it but since he couldn't really answer, they now had to deal with the mess. Plus, they had to fly much slower because apparently, Leo didn't fully fix the plane because he was kidnapped before he could.

Relieved, they all dropped back into their seats and Annabeth lay down on one of the sofas, beginning to clean her knife after she got a little calmer. Her mind was still racing but she managed to façade her thoughts to the outside. Grover however still shot her glanced that told her the mask wasn't good enough and he could sense her uneasiness. Of course she should be freaked out. After all, their first day just turned out to be pretty much a giant monster party.

"Wow, you guys really have bad luck, don't you? Whatever you're up to, this has to be something dangerous." Yuki said. She hardly had talked in the fight or the first hours she had been here but not everybody looked at her. Piper just laughed dryly and looked outside the window again as if she couldn't have said that any better. Annabeth just smiled and got back to cleaning her knife.

"Oh, it's not that bad. I had far worse beginnings for a quest." She said and put her knife back into her belt. Piper raised her eyebrows but Thalia snickered, knowing the story already. Since Piper opened her mouth to ask, Annabeth just decided to tell her. Even though it was difficult, she forced herself to not think about it as much. They needed to find out about some things eventually.

"You see, when Percy, Grover and I had our first quest together, we left New York by bus. Just a few kilometers out of the city, we were attacked by all three Furies, ran through the forest, almost got ourselves turned into statues by Medusa and had to sleep in the woods. I think that compared to this quest and the one in the Labyrinth, we are off to a pretty good start, considering out enemy is mother earth." Grover nodded and shook his head, sighing.

"Yeah, that day had me thinking what I got myself into, hanging out with demigods all my life." He shook his head and then grinned, fond of the way they were talking about those old adventures. For Annabeth, it was the first time since Percy had gone missing that she talks about Percy and didn't immediately feel like drowning. Piper made big eyes and Yuki stared at them just as stunned but said nothing.

"Wow, that must've been rough. How old were you then?" the daughter of Aphrodite asked and leaned back into her seat.

"Twelve." Annabeth answered, grinning mischievously.

"No way! You fought Medusa and the Furies when you were twelve? You're kidding!"

"Yeah well, it's true. Percy has a pretty strong scent for monsters, you see. Even back then, he was easy to spot for them. Not to mention the situation was pretty bad for him back then. The more powerful you get the more monsters you attract. That's part of the reason why Chiron didn't want so many of us to travel together. I'm impressed we even got this far so fast, we have two children of Zeus and in all three children of the big prophecy, which are all pretty much powerful." She sighed and grabbed herself a cushion to place her head at. Piper responded with a nod. Maybe she thought about Annabeth's words right now or maybe she wanted to ask more. But the blonde's mood to tell stories about her missing boyfriend was gone and so she now turned away from them, staring at the back of the sofa with her grey eyes. Her mind raced in memories of that time. They had been so young and Percy had been so completely clueless. Somehow, she wished that time back, no, she wished him back. Just so he could be by her side again and give away a stupid comment to Piper that would make the story sound ridiculous but otherwise make everybody laugh. She missed it, even if she liked to tease him about it.

After a few seconds of silence, Thalia finally raised her voice.

"Well. Since Hot Head is unable to move, I'll enjoy drawing on his face with a marker and keep an eye on my brother while you guys get some rest. You'll probably need it."

All of them knew the huntress was right so before Annabeth knew it and before she could even notice how annoying that flying light over her head was –which was by the way STILL there-, she had fallen asleep.

When thinking about this later, the daughter of Athena liked to describe this night as the beginning of her nightmares.

* * *

_Dudun. Wondering what nightmares she will have/experience? What she found with the Basilisk? Well, be curious xP Next up will be Roman, promise ^^_

**Please tell me what you think, that'd really make me happy and keep me writing fast :3**


	53. Essence

_January, 24th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, loyal readers :)_

_Thanks to your opinions, I'm just going to keep my story the way I planned it. Trust me, I have some cool scenes planned, some drama etc. Most of it is coming near the end so I understand if you find it boring on the way. I'd be glad if you kept reading though, because I AM going to continue. I hate people that give up their stories. I once did too and I hated myself for it and still am. I don't want that to happen again so I'd be really glad if you guys sticked with me. No, I'd be honored, brought to tears, overjoyed if you did. Really, every review helps me and I'm always so glad when you say my story is good even though I prefer it more book-like than oneshot-like. Btw, the reunion is not the final scene but it's coming near the end. That's how I thought Rick Riordan planned the book as well. Obviously, we were all ditched when he just left the reunion out in the end to make us all suffer from tension T_T Authors are cruel sometimes I know. I'm like that myself. _

_To Shitty,shitty,shitty,shitty: I hope you had fun copy and pasting. As soon as you found your niveau again, I'd be pleased to hear your reasonable critique. ;P  
_

_****__**And yeaaah, it's Roman again! Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LIII**

**Percy**

He tried to calm himself. It wasn't that bad, was it? Lupa wanted to talk, big deal. She couldn't kill him, right? He had iron skin after all. On the other hand, that didn't really save him from that hellhound poison, for whatever reason. So this thought didn't really reassure him either. The son of Neptune took a few deep breaths as he followed the big she-wolf farther away from the place the other soldiers treated the wounded and reorganized things. Percy had handed the strange sword –which hadn't disappeared into dust- to Reyna and told her it was probably better to seal it away. That thing gave him the creeps, like it was never getting warm and absorbing all his life as it tried to build its own. Plain creepy, honest.

Anyway. Lupa was leading him farther and farther away until they finally landed at the beach. It was the very bay he had rescued Dakota on his first day. Wait no, that was just yesterday. His time here seemed to pass so slowly it was unbelievable. He had experienced so much that it was almost like two weeks passed even though it was barely a whole day. Lupa stopped and looked out onto the sea without saying something. Percy kept his mouth shut even though his lips were burning to say something that was probably really stupid. But he had learned with Lupa. If she was already upset, he'd better not step onto her patients any longer. Finally, she spoke. Her voice was again overly controlled but also calmer than before.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?" she asked, still not looking at him. Was she speaking to him? Because he had the honest feeling she was talking to the ocean himself. No kidding, even she couldn't be that mad…could she?

"Er, w- excuse me?" wow, that was close. He remembered the last time he had almost slipped saying that and saved it just in time. Lupa now finally turned, studying him closely.

"Your shoulder. How did that happen?" she asked, her voice severely serious. Wait, what? That was it? She asked him how the wound on his shoulder happened? Lupa of all people…or gods, whatever. Percy opened his mouth, then shut it again, completely dumfounded. Didn't Gwen say she would kill him when she found out that he was being weak? Now this really took him by surprise…

"I- That was a hellhound. It bit me this morning." He finally said and touched the bandage under his shirt that could be seen because the shirt wasn't really…well, in one piece. The she-wolf narrowed her eyes and seemed to think about his answer. Wait…why did he get the feeling that she knew exactly why his skin would normally not let anything harm him? This goddess certainly knew more than she let on about him and that angered him somehow. Why wouldn't she tell him! There could be crucial information for him, he wanted to know what his whole past life was about! It was obvious that it had been full of strange events that happened to only demigods and he wanted to know about Annabeth and his past friends in general. But then again, the wolf goddess was silent a few seconds, when not even minutes. It was hard for Percy to tell how much time passed with him just standing there stupidly, staring out at the water and watching the sun creep towards the horizon. Somehow, the picture of a burning Maserati Spyder shot into his head but he just let it go, thinking that was a crazy thought for this situation.

"She's after you. And she's really serious. That many monsters in only a day. Defeated her strongest son…I wonder…" she studied him from head to toe, her eyes resting on his hair a little longer, probably on the grey streak there. Her paws made her step closer to him until Percy had to step back so she wouldn't cross the line of his comfort zone. Her silver eyes were so intense the son of Neptune found it hard to look straight into them. He still managed though, raising an eyebrow and returning the gaze with his seagreen eyes.

"Who are you really?" she finally questioned and tilted her head a little. Percy blinked and then smiled a weak but also confused smile. Again, was she kidding him?

"Er, memory loss? Thought I told you. I have _no_ freaking idea who I am." He admitted and tried to sound upbeat about it, which wasn't exactly easy. After all, this whole thing freaked him out just as much as it did everybody else. Even though he had given a rude answer, Lupa didn't seem to care and just turned around again, ignoring him.

"I suppose so. I know where you are from though. And trust me, I don't like it how I was just ditched with the responsibility to have one of your kind here at my Castra. I don't know what the gods are planning and I certainly don't like how they're not giving me any insight at all." She glittered her teeth and growled as the sky again gave away a rumbling sound even though the sky had been clear for some time. _Zeus doesn't seem to like that statement_; he thought but quickly shook his head to let it go so he was able to listen to what Lupa was saying further.

"But I guess I have no other choice but to prepare you for what's coming." She now really sounded like she regretted that. Then she looked directly at him again and stared intently.

"So, you noticed your skin being invulnerable to weapons, right?" Percy nodded so Lupa continued.

"You have to know that it's not for your whole body. I don't know where but on some part of your body, there is a weak spot. You can't be hit there, under any circumstances. Because when that happens, you're certainly dead. There would be no saving you, no matter how powerful the healing would be. Do you understand what that means?" she asked. Percy paused for a second, then shrugged.

"I guess I should keep my armor on more often then." He grinned. Since Lupa didn't laugh, he was serious fast enough and caught himself.

"Er I mean…I guess I should be careful where I'm stabbed?" he added nervously. Lupa ignored him but she already seemed annoyed.

"Do you coincidentally know where that spot is?" That one had Percy thinking. Then something dawned in to him. When Lupa had touched his back, the opposite of his navel…..Annabeth stretching a hand out to him…

It was just a very faint memory that was disappearing quickly again but as soon as he thought it, Percy was aware that it was true. The mentioned spot on his back tingled and he let go of his shoulder slowly, feeling as if it was getting better. It could just be his imagination but maybe…no, that didn't make any sense. He put the thought aside and looked at Lupa again.

"I-I think I do…" he admitted and Lupa nodded, this time more pleased.

"Good. Whatever happens, keep it to yourself. The risks of this blessing or curse, whatever you want to call it are very risky. You tire greatly when you fight often so training somebody like you only has a reason when you are able to increase the amount of strength that doesn't lie in your body but in the potential that your parentage gives you." She stopped talking, waiting for Percy to let that sink in. He just nodded and stared out at the ocean again. In the meantime, the sun had almost set, leaving the sky all red, almost like blood.

"The water?" he asked and Lupa nodded.

"Indeed. That is one of the things that we'll concentrate on. But you have to find out something I can't teach you myself." She paused and glared at him seriously, as if this topic was something she didn't wish him to speak of.

"The essence of you and your father's power."

Percy blinked, frowning. What now? Essence? What was that supposed to mean? But Lupa just continued, ignoring his confused expression.

"I sense that you inherited many treats from your father, Percy Jackson. That also means that you tend to step out of your role sometimes, stubborn as you are. Neptune is aware that he is powerful enough to equal if not beat both his brothers but that's beside the point I want to get across. You see, in a legion, everyone has his position. Somebody gives the orders. Some just follow, some always take offense, some defense et cetera. It's the same with the gods and their kids in a way. I want you to find out what your position is. Try to follow your instincts but also think about the powers you already possess. It's no easy task, it took the best demigods really long to figure this out. If you can actually do it, maybe your uncertainty will wash away and make place for real control and you would become a proper Roman soldier. I hope you'll make up your mind about this. Even if you are not from the kind I normally teach, that is also a very important topic for yours. Sons of Neptune cause destruction. That's mostly why we Romans call them bad luck."

"Wow, reassuring." Percy muttered and crossed his arms in front of his chest. He didn't exactly understand completely what Lupa was saying but he tried, already trying to figure out what that essence could be.

The rest of his day was a blur. Lupa send him back to the infirmary for some Ambrosia and Nectar which Percy ate reluctantly while talking to Gwen and Dakota. He asked Dakota why she had disappeared this afternoon but she didn't seem to want to talk about it so he let the topic drop. Gwen told him that they had sealed away the sword somewhere in the basement of their mean house, which had been difficult because the demigod carrying it had just passed out somehow and they had to wrap it in a very thick layer of clothing before transporting it again.

Going to dinner was also kinda funny. Even though everybody had hated him this morning, the mood had seriously improved because everybody was told he was the one who had the plan of how to defeat that scary skeleton monster, making him kind of an attention magnet, which Percy tried to ignore as much as he could. Nobody knew where that monster came from but they were all glad they were able to defeat it before it could have done any serious damage. Since the infirmary was now overcrowded by hurt soldiers, Percy was send back to his tent for the night and he was really glad about that. Since the sword training center and the stables were damaged, the repairs were put up for the next day and they were divided into groups that had to do certain things on the repair but their training wasn't cut out even though rebuilding those things seemed like a lot of work to him.

This night, his dreams were again not what he expected. When he laid down into his hammock, he had almost waited to see Annabeth in one of his dreams again, he had hoped for it. But it came a little different. When the dream formed a proper picture, the face of a sleeping woman formed directly in front of him, he was completely surrounded by dark despite for that spooky face in front of him.

"_Do you still think you can oppose me?" the woman spoke. It was the same bone shaking voice he had heard yesterday but even more intense, as if she was now standing right in front of him. Her presence was unlike anything he had felt before, he was pretty sure of that even though he was unsure of what he faced in his life before the Castra Roma. He felt so small, tiny even in front of her and she radiated such immersive power that his body wanted to back away and curl into a ball. But he still tried to stand tall and glare at her. Honestly, it was no piece of cake, even in a dream._

"_That little skeleton was only the beginning. If you keep staying at this Castra, you will put everyone in danger, little hero. I only want you, the rest is meaningless to me. There are some things I have to set straight with especially you. Or you could still join me. That wolf is right, your strength isn't something to laugh at. But she doesn't want you, you don't belong there. Don't you think I could tell you where you are really from? I know it….you just have to ask. Otherwise, there will be more monsters, far more." She grinned creepily and even chuckled in a scare tone which shook the entire earth around him. _

"_Do you really want to risk the life of your new 'friends'?"_

And with a scream, beading in sweat, the Son of Neptune awoke and almost fell out of the hammock, looking around in panic. His tent was completely quiet and he could see the moonlight fall through the windows, forming strange figures on the wooden floor. For a short second, he thought he could still feel the earth vibrating as if the woman was still laughing to her hearts content, obviously enjoying herself…

* * *

_Yeah, Gaea is persistent. And evil. Does she know his flaw already? We'll see. I had nearly no time to read this over again, I hope there aren't too many mistakes. I'm also sorry for the late and that the action in the Roman part takes so long. I'm going to skip a little bit in the next chapter. WELL! University stress is coming with a last flash now, I hope I'll be able to write this weekend, we have an event at university and I'm probably busy. But I hope I'll make it ^^. Next one will be Roman too ;P_

**Please tell me what you think and no flaming! (Never thought I'd have to say this...seriously) I'd be really glad to hear your thoughts! Btw, thanks for the congrats on my 1 year anniversary! *hugs***


	54. The Truth is revealed

_January, 27th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, loyal readers :)_

_I have a little present for you ^^ It's an extra long Roman chapter! :D Seriously, these are 4000 words or something x_x I decided to skip a little though I planned that anyway so I guess it's good for all of us xD Plus, I don't know if I can produce another chapter this weekend, maybe the next one will only come on Tuesday or something, I have a busy weekend ahead of me xO. _

_at saveme57 : Yeah, I actually planned something similar to that XD_

_ at The others: Thanks so much, I'm really glad you appreciate what I write and write a review every time! I'm so thankful I could cry T_T  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LIV**

**Percy**

Somehow, his mind just wouldn't get around what that sleeping woman said. All the people in the Castra were in danger because of him? Didn't Reyna and the others mention that until the day he had arrived here, nearly no monsters had made it through their boarders? So that creep, whoever she was, was really after him. Slowly, Percy rose from his hammock and walked over to the small bathroom he had –strange enough to have a bath inside a tent. There, he washed his face and enjoyed the cold water pouring down his face and hair, trying to control his breathing.

When he looked up to see himself in the mirror, he stared himself in the face for quite some time. The teenager had little rings under his seagreen eyes that were still a little wide from the dream and the shock he just received. The grey streak in his hair was planted to his face and he stroked through it while he thought about what the creepy woman had said. Slowly closing his eyes, he looked down and breathed out hard. On the side of the basin, Percy discovered his old necklace with the four beads. He had put it there this evening because it was still broken and he didn't find the time or the place to fix it. Now he took it into his hands and stroked over the single beads with his fingers. The last one caught his eye and suddenly, even though he had only seen some strange letters before, he could read the words that were engraved in there. Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Micheal Yew and many others, obviously names. They all rang a bell in his head and he had to grab the basin because this gave him even more of a headache than the weird dream had. Why was he able to read those signs? This was obviously no ordinary English after all.

Suddenly, he decided that he couldn't stay here. He put on a few clothes, stuffed the necklace inside his jeans pocket and his pen in the other. Then he walked outside and before he knew it, he was at the beach. More precisely, he was where Lupa had talked to him this evening.

How he got past the wolves? He had no idea. His instincts had led him since his mind was totally elsewhere and the teenager now sat down in the sand where the cold waves would splash over his feet and a stone would block the view so nobody would see him sitting there. The cold ocean water at his feet gave him a clearer mind and he breathed in the soft salty wind around his nose. The sea had just the same color as his eyes and he stared out on the water, his mind finally a little calmer.

Why had this dream caused him so much panic? It was probably really just a dream, no big deal. But no, Percy knew that his dreams seldom were just dreams. As Reyna had said, demigod dreams were something else. Especially when they were about evil women out of earth that wanted you to join them or die a horrible death. One thing was sure: Whatever he did, he would never want to join her. Maybe he didn't belong to this camp but for that was worth, he was pretty sure he hadn't been evil or worked for the wrong side before coming here. If that was the case though, why did he have his enemy-senses tickling when he reached the Castra? Right now, it had calmed down a lot, because he got to know the people around here a little. But when he had been on Lupa's back, riding inside this camp, there had been this urge to either run away or attack everybody he saw at this institution. But why? He was a demigod as well and they told him this was the only place for those to grow up and learn how to fight. So why did he feel like that was a lie?

"What are you doing?", asked a voice behind him and it startled him so much that he reacted on pure instinct and uncapped his sword so fast he didn't even notice before it was at the throat of the person behind him and he was standing, facing the intruder. In the bright moonlight –the moon was almost full- Percy now recognized Gwendolyn. She just stood there and didn't react to the sword at her throat despite the eyebrow that she raised.

"Oh, not in a good mood, are we?" she smiled as the son of Neptune quickly redrew his blade and capped the pen again. Then he sighed, looking down apologizing.

"No, sorry, you just stunned me." He said and Gwen turned around, sitting down at the stone near the water. Percy followed her and sat beside the daughter of Apollo. She was quiet for a while before she looked at him and shook her head.

"What are you doing out here that late?" she asked and Percy just shook his head as a response.

"Couldn't sleep." He said simply and looked away. One more thing to notice about him: He was a terrible liar. Gwen probably didn't buy it but she just continued talking as if that was normal.

"You truly have the reflexes of a Roman soldier. It's astounding you made it past the wolves and patrols and were able to attack so quickly. I wonder why you didn't show up here until now." Percy just shrugged.

"Dunno. Maybe I trained somewhere else. There has to be another place for demigods than this, right?" he asked. Gwendolyn was next to Dakota the only one Percy would talk to about this. None other would believe him about that feeling he had or would even consider thinking about it. He doubted that Hazel would even hesitate to imprison him just for the thought of it. Gwen on the other side just looked at him with a tilted head and when she finally spoke, her voice was full of doubt.

"I don't know…Reyna would say that there's just no way for such a place to exist. But you see…since you came here and the Oracle gave me those visions…I seriously think that could be possible. The question would be why we never heard of it, where it is and why you are here when you were trained somewhere else. Somewhere in between I even had the assumption that you came from the underworld or from another time or both. But that's just crazy." She giggled as if that thought was rubbish and Percy grinned along. No, he was pretty sure that wasn't it. The thing about the other training camp though...that somehow made sense to him. He nodded and began staring out at the ocean again before he talked, changing the subject.

"So…why are _you_ out here that late?" he asked and looked over to her, studying her face. In her own way, Gwen had her beauty too. There were freckles sprayed all over her face and her dirty blonde hair had a strange tone in the moonlight. Her eyes almost glowed green when she looked over to him.

"I don't really know…I just somehow knew that I had to get here." She shrugged as if that was normal and even though Percy wanted to ask further, he didn't. That was just one of the things that felt strangely similar to him, like he knew another person that acted like Gwen, out of unnatural hunches or something. Finally, after another few minutes of silence, Percy decided to tell the healer about his dream. He didn't know why but he felt like Gwen could give him support, like she knew more than she let on and yet was willing to help him out. The blonde listened and nodded sometimes. When the son of Neptune was finished, she seemed to think about his words before she answered.

"I see…so she wants you to join her or she would send more monsters?" Percy nodded.

"Well then don't do it." She concluded simply and shrugged. Percy stared at her astonished and Gwen smiled, obviously amused by his expression.

"Yeah, you see…we can handle those monsters somehow. The Romans are a strong bunch, I'm sure Lupa will figure something out. Or Reyna will. And we'll get your memories back somehow. She's just trying to lure you in, don't listen to that crap. Though it makes me wonder who the hell she is anyway…" Now, Percy had to smile as well. Yeah, that was what he had thought of that dream. Or at least what he wanted to think. Still, these monster attacks were his fault. But it was nice to know that Gwen had such trust in not only the Castra but in him as well. It made him feel a lot better.

They kept talking for some time, mainly about stupid things, like Bobby's expression at his fight against Percy or the soldiers at dinner and how they suddenly changed their attitude towards him. Percy also told her how he could talk to horses, which made her first laugh and then understand what he had said this evening.

"What was that you said about mothers by the way?" he finally asked but immediately regretted it. Gwen's smile faded and she glanced to the side.

"Hey, I- I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that bad! Oh boy I'm so stupid sometimes.." he sighed and facepalmed but Gwen just looked back at him, smiling at his reaction.

"No, it's alright. I just….don't wanna talk about it, okay?" she said and Percy nodded, understanding that. He didn't know why yet but this sure had to be one touchy subject to her so he didn't press any further. If she wanted, she would tell him some day. Soon after that, Gwen suggested they should return to their beds. It was only three hours until wakeup and they had to at least get another few hours of rest.

In the morning, everything was quiet again at the Castra. Percy felt tired as hell but he could keep up with the march way better than yesterday. He almost got used to the healthy food and even got through his regular training plan for the first time. When you subtracted the time he had to help rebuild the destroyed stable and sword training arena.

Roman training was sure hard. But practicing his weaknesses was a great idea in general. It appeared that the son of Neptune had more of them than he was aware of. Of course archery was one of them. Gwen had to keep Percy from shooting her siblings with all her might but at the end of the day, he even managed to hit the target a few times, which caused him to have a little bit of hope though it could have been pure coincidence. In the evening, he practiced his special demigod skills with Lupa. The wolf didn't mention that essence thing again and Percy assumed that she wanted him to find everything out on his own. Though he sure could have used a hint or two because he had no clue. There was so much on his mind that he didn't have the time to make up something for Lupa, much less think about who that earth woman was. Whatever the Roman were, they were certainly not lazy and certainly not easy going. Whenever Percy was finished with one unit, he had to go straight to the other or he would be late. And being late meant running some extra times around the arena. And even if his stamina seemed to be bigger than for some of the lower legions, he still felt like dropping dead as soon as he was sitting at his table for dinner. That was when he noticed that the day had been monster free. There was no attack that he had heard of and no monster that had infiltrated. Was the woman giving him time to think or did she want him to be at ease?

Well that would certainly not happen! But the next two days were out of attacks as well. Percy began to feel better around the Romans and he even got used to the hard training methods. He barely had to make extra rounds around the arena and made great progress with his others skills. The passed nights had been dreamless though, at least there were no dreams of Annabeth and also none of the earth woman. It had disappointed him a little if he was honest – the part with Annabeth of course.

Concerning the training, Lupa was the only one not content with him. His water powers wouldn't improve to the extent they had been on his first day here and Lupa said they should give it a rest until he found out what she had said about the essence of his power. When he didn't find that out, her lesson would only tire him and bring nothing more.

So since the water training was cancelled, she had another suggestion for him. The wolf goddess told him about something they called the "mist". Everything she explained sounded reasonable and normal to Percy and some pieces of the puzzle that was his memory seemed to fall into place. What Lupa now wanted to teach him was to control the said mist. It would make mortals think what he wanted them to think. Somehow, he had the urge to snip his fingers when Lupa told him about this. Strangely, she really told him to do that when she told him the movement to the manipulation and Percy wondered if and why he had known about this before.

In his sixth night at the Castra, it was the night after the winter solstice, where they had a feast in honour of the gods (there was a strange chill in the air until then and Lupa had been away pretty often. After the feast, things had come down thought. Percy didn't know if he was the only one who had noticed the strange feeling in the air though), something _really_ strange occurred. The horns were blown and suddenly, the whole Castra was filled with soldiers that had armor strapped over their pajamas. Percy, being a full member of first legion, still had no clue what the heck was going on, so he was only half dressed when Dakota knocked on his tent like crazy. The daughter of Venus had befriended with the teenager pretty well in the last few days but now her voice sounded eager, almost in panic.

"Percy! Come on, hurry, we need every soldier. There's like a whole army over by the forest!"

An army? Attacking the Castra? Why did that ring a bell? Faster than he had ever dressed, Percy got into his clothes and stormed to the entrance of his tent, fingering at his armor stripes. He said nothing to say to Dakota any further and just followed her when they stormed of in the direction of the noise. It was the middle of the night and since his training had been especially hard the day before – some Mars kids from second legion had challenged him at dagger training. They obviously didn't like him, nor did they like fighting fair and square. Plus, Lupa had drained all his strength by the extra stamina lesson he received. Man, that goddess sure knew how to make him tired -, Percy didn't exactly feel like standing up, much less like fighting in the middle of the night. He drew his sword and it gave away a slight glow as they walked by. Dakota was holding a lantern which had strangely bright red fire inside of it. Since he wasn't in the mood to ask about it, he just let it drop.

When they reached the fight though, he had to say something.

"Oh man…" he whispered and shook his head. Honestly, there were _many_ monsters. He made out earthborn and giants, Dracanae, hellhounds, Empousa, … One of the latter was fighting especially hard. She had a one on one fight with Reyna and pushed the daughter of Mars away from her just as Percy reached the fight. The Soldier flew right into Percy's direction and he caught her just in time so she wouldn't fall over. She didn't thank him but cursed and got up quickly, glaring at the monster. The Empousa had dark skin and hair, her eyes were blazing red, she was obviously not going for charming any more.

"How can that bitch still be alive? I killed her just a few days ago! My kills normally last way longer than that..." Reyna said and glared at her enemy. Percy raised an eyebrow and eyed the monster. As soon as the Empousa saw him, her face lightened up and she transformed, suddenly she was a teenager with a beautiful face and dazzling dark eyes and she was coming closer to the small group of soldiers. Dakota was still beside him, Reyna stood half in front of him and Percy glared at the monster with recognition into his eyes. Suddenly, her name flashed through his mind.

"Kelli. Well, nice to see you took the wrong side…again." He said with a smug, pointing his blade in her direction. Now that she appeared like a teenage cheerleader, she looked very wrong between all those monsters but nobody attacked her as she kept walking towards them, smiling. The son of Neptune had no idea where the words came from but he spoke them with such certainty that Reyna and Dakota looked at him, astonishment in their faces.

"You know her? So she wasn't bluffing? I don't believe it…" Reyna said and shook her head in disbelieve. Finally, when Kelli was only a few meters away, she stopped walking. The fight went on around them but it was as if the group was in some kind of bubble because Percy just saw Kelli and his friends beside him.

"Oh yeah, I know him. How could I ever forget such a nice young man? Even if he's famous for slashing my allies, I guess he'd be worth a kiss. What do you think, Percy?" she asked with a sweet voice. His arms wanted to sink and he almost wanted to step forward even though the back of his mind told him not to.

Suddenly though, Dakota stepped in front of him and pointed at the Empousa with her sling. Her expression was furious and her blue eyes glared at the monster with such intend that it was almost scary. Now, seeing her, Percy felt a lot better. Kelli's aura had been so heavy, almost forcing his brain to work slower and lower him into her trap. Now that Dakota stood before him, he could suddenly see what had made her sparing partners lose every time they fought her. The daughter of Venus had a sphere of soothing warmth around her that made you feel attraction towards her. It got Percy motionless for a short moment before he caught himself again, reminding himself of the monster they faced.

"You're not going anywhere near him and most of all not his lips, you slut!" Percy was stunned by those harsh words from especially Dakota and Reyna seemed stunned as well, looking at her friend with wide brown eyes. Kelli just raised an eyebrow at her and then looked back at Percy, grinning.

"Oh, you got yourself a new girlfriend? How delightful. I guess you either really don't remember or you're just even sweeter than I thought…" she smiled her sweet smile but Percy wasn't affected any more. He just glared at her with his green eyes and didn't react to her hint about Dakota any further. When Kelli realized that her normal matters didn't work, she began attacking again, this time heading right for the son of the seagod. Reyna wanted to interfere but Percy shook his head.

"It's alright, I got this. I have the strong feeling I fought her before. Dakota, you better stay near me though…" Reyna seemed irritated but she nodded, attacking another monster close by. Together with Dakota and her bullets, Percy was able to withstand Kelli's spell. It was a lot easier when the Empousa transformed fully again so her appearance didn't startle him anymore. Around them, the other monsters were slowly drawn back, seeing as they had received further support from the wolves and even Lupa herself, which Percy really didn't expect. After a few minutes of fighting and Dakota beside him tiring greatly, Percy finally managed to land a severe hit on Kelli. The Empousa had a nasty cut across her chest and a hole in her metal leg. She wailed and then glared at Percy, obviously furious. Her voice was not louder, as if it was broadcasted all over the meadow and she had a slight victory glance in her dark eyes, even though her feet already began to dissolve into dust.

"_**Oh, you Achilles imitators think you're so great! Just you see, I'll get you one day. I'll come back from Tartarus to hunt you down again and again!"**_she now fully laughed, her brown-red eyes staring at him as she seemed to be lifted up into the sky while dissolving. Her voice could be heard all over the meadow while Lupa bit the head off a last monster.

"_**But maybe I don't have to. I just have to see what they do to you when they find out you're actually a Greek, **__**Perseus**__** Jackson!"**_ she laughed loudly and evilly, until her face had disappeared from the face of the earth.

It didn't matter.

Suddenly, no monster mattered. Not that there were any more left anyway. It was of no significance anymore because when Percy lowered his sword, every Roman soldier present stared at him. And there was _everybody_ present, even all of the wolves and Lupa. Every single eye was fixed on him as Reyna was the first one to move again and grab her swords tight while she walked over to Percy, looking like she was about to explode…

* * *

_Yeah, they know it now. I had to pick Kelli as a monster again because 1. It's cool how Dakota gets all defensive and 2. because it's for the Romans to see how fast the monsters revive already. And yes, Percy finally learns how to control the mist! I always wondered why he never does, Thalia learns in the third book and Percy never mentioned it after that. I wondered if he already knew it but since it wasn't mentioned, I did it here instead ^^. So yeah, let's hope they don't kill him now that they found out about him...__

**Please tell me what you think, there's enough to write about in this chapter I guess! :o I'd be really happy if you wrote something :3**


	55. Giving it up?

_February, 3rd 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_I'm back, loyal readers! :3_

_Ah yeah, almost 3000 words this time. The Greeks are having some trouble here and I really hope it's no bummer for you that you have no Roman chapter XD There's coming one this weekend, no worries. I have enough time, I'll do more chapters. My holidays started now so I'll have a little bit more free time. Though I tend to waste my time on other things xP _

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LV**

**Leo**

If you didn't experience it yet: It sucked not being able to move. Sure, he was proud of himself for taking out that creep of a monster but hey, it still was no piece of cake hearing the others panic and run for their lives while you hang out motionless on Jason's back. Plus, it was kinda embarrassing being taken piggyback by his best friend. Not that anybody cared in this life or death situation but still.

When they reached the plane, Leo was relieved but on the other hand: Who would fly the thing if he was still not able to move a muscle? And was it just his feelings or did the plane feel intruded? Like somebody had been here? But that wasn't possible, right? They had sealed it shut! So Leo quickly shook off the thought.

The fire user wasn't sure if it was a good idea to keep Jason in charge. Not that the son of Hephaestus didn't believe that his best friend could do it. No, he was pretty sure he was able to control a plane just great, even if he didn't try. But the fire user also knew pretty well that the son of Jupiter just masked how tired he was in reality. Honestly, they were probably all ready to drop dead and Jason was sure no different. He had said he would have to pull an all nighter. Leo had done that many times before when he worked on things, helped his mother or ran away. But had Jason? His first time flying and then there were so many risk factors…that certainly wasn't good.

And then there was this force that had stopped them last time…Leo hadn't told the others about it, which he regretted right now. It had been similar to what happened to Festus once. An invisible force had slammed into them and it seemed like everything in the place froze. Leo's best guess was Khione. And that this goddess was still after them somehow had driven him mad but also sad. They had her daughter on board now though, maybe that would help. She was just as beautiful and maybe her presence would keep her mother from crushing them, even if the two weren't on good terms.

Oh yeah, Leo had noticed how Annabeth didn't trust Yuki. Honestly, she had every right not to. The prophecy had warned them about a new friend that would betray them and all. And the other campers had explained to him that this weak-spot-thing was referring to Percy because he was bearing the curse of Achilles and all. So from Annabeth's point of view, this quest must already look devastating as soon as they got the prophecy, not counting all the dangerous situations they got into until now. He had to admit, that girl had guts, if she still agreed on leading this seemingly pointless organization. On the other hand…would she be the one everybody at camp looked up to so much if she wasn't like that, brave, fearless, smart and courageous? From what he heard until now, she and that Percy guy went through pretty much. Honestly. They talked about him the whole time, Leo wondered how the heck he managed to do all that stuff, like, saving the world and all, and still have a girl like Annabeth for a girlfriend. If Leo didn't know that the daughter of Athena was already given to that mysterious hero, he'd certainly think about her. No kidding, she was good looking in another way than the Aphrodite girls and she was smart but also scary at some point. She knew about machines, but not in a get-your-hands-dirty-way his sisters did but the planning side. Leo had seen her study the plans of the Argo II and she had even given them tips. _Them_, the children of the forge god. And on top of that, the way she worked with a dagger…wicked. Just that.

Nonetheless, he would still go for Khione. Or Yuki. Or Thalia. Yeah, Thalia…he wouldn't even get started about her. Wait, stop. Was that her, coming at him with an Edding? Leo hadn't followed the conversation the other demigods had until now because he was lost in his thoughts –weird enough. Now he probably got the payment for that and for not being able to move. The daughter of Zeus leaned over him, which was the positive side. The negative one was that she began to draw on his face with a permanent marker and he wasn't sure if he liked that. How the monsters would react? Hey, there's a guy with permanent marker on his face, let's at him first, that must taste yummy. Great. Juuust great.

To get back to the actual point: Why exactly did he have to fall for girls out of his league all-the-f**ing-time? It was hard to believe but he was beginning to get sick of it. Was this freaking world full of half goddesses just also as full of girls that paid him no attention and thought of him as something to look down to? What in Hades has he done wrong? Were his jokes not good enough? No, that wasn't possible, his jokes were awesome. But what was it, then?

The son of Hephaestus would have sighed, if that was possible for him. Minutes passed as the others went to sleep or kept whispering among themselves without realizing that Leo could actually hear them. He wasn't exactly able to move, although when the hours passed, it seemed to get a slight bit better. Also, he didn't know if he slept during the time he was motionless, it was hard to tell.

At some point in the night, when Leo had one of his awake moments, Annabeth woke from her restless slumber with a half suppressed scream. The whole time she had been sleeping, she hadn't been able to lie still and since Leo was able to look at her from his awkward position on the couch, he had wondered what caused her so much trouble in her dreams. Her awakening stunned Thalia, who was on a seat next to Annabeth's canapé and she yawned, looking at her best friend.

"What is it, Annabeth?" she asked, obviously still half asleep. Annabeth's grey eyes were still extremely wide and she stared at her friend although it rather seemed like she was staring through her. Finally, she exhaled slowly and lowered her gaze, stroking through her messy blonde hair.

"I…..No, it's nothing, I guess, Thals." Was it just him or was she glancing at Yuki? And why was Thalia so confused by Annabeth's words? The daughter of Zeus had now raised an eyebrow and looked at her friend worriedly. It could be seen on her face that she wanted to say something but she decided against it and stood up even though she couldn't possibly be rested already.

"Alright then. I'll go get my brother some coffee. You should go back to sleep, we won't land any time soon." She yawned again and made her way to the small kitchen in the back of the plane, where she made the said coffee and then went through the seats with her sleeping friends to go to the front of the plane. She seemed pretty uncomfortable while walking through the machine but Leo could see how she tried to get herself together and not show that she was ready to drop as well.

Anyway. Annabeth now looked around and let her feet touch the ground. It was then when the fire user noticed how tired she really looked. In the dim light of the plane and with her little ghost light over her head, he noticed the shadows under her eyes. She obviously thought everybody was asleep –Leo's hair covering his face and his half closed eyes might have helped- because she now didn't mask her expression with a smile or confident gaze any more. The glance she now shot the floor was full or sorrow, worry and so many other things that didn't fit in with her usual behavior. The blonde stared at her hands now and the next moment, she suddenly whipped her left eye and inhaled slowly in an attempt to calm herself. What had she seen in that dream? Leo knew exactly that he wasn't supposed to see this. Nobody was. He would have certainly turned away if he only was able to move. The daughter of Athena didn't go back to sleep though. She picked up her rucksack and wandered out of Leo's field of vision, to the seats further in the back of the plane.

The next hour passed, then another. Leo was slowly able to move again but didn't say anything since the others were asleep. He was able to sit up carefully and massaged his muscles a bit to get them moving again. It would be nice to visit Jason in the cockpit but he was afraid his legs weren't able to carry him just now. So he sat there and looked around. Annabeth was still awake. She noticed him sitting up and smiled at him weakly. If he hadn't seen her breakdown just now, Leo would have been convinced she was perfectly fine.

Leo thought about if it was safe to ask her what she dreamed about but then he realized that it would be stupid to ask for she would know that he watched her then. So he began massaging his legs slowly and watched Thalia come back from the cockpit. Just when Leo tried out if he could stand for the first time, the plane suddenly seemed to run into some kind of wall. Leo fell to the floor, so did Thalia and Annabeth was just in time to grab the back of her seat so she wouldn't fall off. She was the first to stand though, managing to jump up in an almost artistic way and even though they seemed to stand still and the machine made strange noises, bumping up and down all the time, Annabeth was the first one to reach the door to the cockpit.

"Jason, what happened?" she yelled over the noise. In the meantime, the others woke up. Piper as well as Yuki seemed confused, Grover was the only one not to wake because of all the noise. He was just mumbling something about food and grabbed his pillow tighter. The fire user seriously didn't know how he could sleep right now, with the airplane acting up and stuff. Even though his legs barely carried him, Leo crouched over to the door, where he spotted Jason, helplessly hitting buttons on the controls. He just shook his head as an answer to Annabeth, sweat building up on his forehead. That wasn't a good sign…

"Try the manual system, Sparky!" Leo yelled and grabbed the doorframe tighter. Jason nodded, even ignoring the nickname this time. He turned on the switches but unfortunately, even though he tried to get the lever up, it didn't move an inch. Annabeth tried to help him but they now began falling hopelessly. Even though it was better than last time, meaning that their height was slowly falling and they weren't crashing nose first, giving them a tiny little bit more time.

Nothing worked. Leo tried some other things when Annabeth and Jason helped him up. Finally, they looked at each other with panic and the daughter of Athena did the final decision.

"We have to give up the plane. Help me search for the parachutes, we have to go as fast as possible!" Leo and Jason nodded in agreement and as fast as they could in a falling plane (which was frustratingly slow) they got back into the main room. Annabeth shot Thalia a glance, which made the daughter of Zeus shake her head.

"No way in Hades! I'm not doing that, Annabeth, no way!" she had turned green over the few seconds they were falling and looked close to a panic attack. Jason and Leo explained to Yuki, Piper and Grover, who had been woken up by Thalia, what the plan was. They all grabbed their jackets as the son of Jupiter quickly opened the door and a heavy gust of wind let them all grab for something solid. He stretched out a hand to Piper and the girl took it, panic and worry in her eyes.

"Piper comes with me. Leo, you take your shoes. The rest of you get the parachutes." And with that comment, he jumped out like it was nothing, dragging a certainly nervous and screaming Piper with her. Leo nodded, trying to remember what the code name was while Annabeth was handing out the parachutes to everyone else. Finally, she seemed to be annoyed by him and said:

"Maia. Come on, Thalia, you can do it. We have to." Leo's shoes were acting up now, wings growing out and Leo struggled for the door while Grover and Yuki had already jumped. It was difficult, with his still weak legs and all. He turned around to see that Annabeth was dragging a completely green Thalia to the door. The daughter of Athena had her parachute already in her hands but the huntress didn't even grab hers from Annabeth, gulping.

"I-I can't!" she whispered and looked out. They could already see the ground now, it was scary how fast it came closer.

"Well, you better, otherwise we'll be demigod sauce in a few seconds!" he commented stupidly, finally reaching the door. He didn't know what Thalia's problem was, he wanted to help her too but the situation was so full of time pressure and the extremely cold wind in his ears made it difficult to think and act clearly. Suddenly, he leaped out after inhaling for the last time and only heard Annabeth arguing further while the plane got smaller behind him and he was freefalling to the ground below.

He couldn't see properly, the air was freezing and he was waiting for the damn shoes to do their work. By the time he reached the hearing distance of the others, something strange seemed to happen. Yuki was yelling her head off, as well was Grover. They had wanted to open their parachutes but it appeared that those didn't work properly, if not even worse. Leo now saw how the lines were almost cut and would certainly rip soon.

"Jason, the lines! Catch them!" he yelled at the top of his lunges and hoped the son of Jupiter would hear it. Apparently, he had also discovered what was wrong and got himself and Piper –who was resting in his arms comfortably- further up in the air. Piper switched positions and just as Jason had his hands free, the lines gave in and Grover and Yuki were free falling. Jason caught them just in time as Annabeth appeared over Leo's head. She was green in her face as well and looking up to the plane as if missing something, reaching out for it and yelling something Leo wasn't able to make out because of the wind in his ears. Unfortunately though, Annabeth's parachute was not on her back and she was falling to the ground much faster than everyone else, including Leo, whose shoes had slowed him down. Below them, Leo could see vast parts of the Rocky mountains and wondered how they didn't come really far during the night. It was still dark though so probably nobody would see them even though there was a town nearby that he was able to make out to his left.

But for now, he concentrated on Annabeth. He willed the shoes to move up and catch the demigoddess, unluckily with his hands in spots they weren't supposed to be. One of them was her butt and seemingly without thinking, she slapped him across the face with full force. Man, that girl had strength alright. If Leo wasn't so busy holding her, he would certainly be forced to hold his cheek, it was burning up.

"Oh, s-sorry." Annabeth now stammered, obviously still confused by whatever happened in the plane. She looked back up, panic in her grey eyes and Leo tried to lighten the mood by grinning and positioning his hand elsewhere.

"Yeah, it's alright, I get it. Private property of Percy Jackson, huh?" he laughed and even succeeded, Annabeth blushed and looked away but she also smiled slightly. Leo now caught up with Jason, whose face was red from concentration as he was carrying three other people and himself. They were now floating in mid-air about three hundred meters above the ground, which seemed kind of strange. Piper looked at Jason worriedly, grabbing onto his neck and trying to do it so he would still get some air. The son of Jupiter had grabbed the other two by their arms and it seemed to be really difficult to hold them up.

"Jason? Jason, listen? Hey! Calm down, you can do this.." Piper said to him and her expression became more worried with the second. Jason's face was now red as a tomato and he wasn't even able to look up to Leo, just glaring at a spot in the distance, concentrating. Leo noticed the lines under his eyes and how worn out he looked.

Suddenly, Jason relaxed, his eyes closed. He had passed out cold and with him, the three others were now rapidly falling towards the ground while behind them, the plane 'landed' in the mountains, exploding violently.

* * *

_Dudun. Anyone noticed how Thalia wasn't mentioned? Well, that was my intention. Now think about it... ;P_

**SO! Please tell me what you think, I wanna know! :3**


	56. Jason's Desperation

_February, 5th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_I'm back, loyal readers! :3_

_Yeah well, my titles get weirder and weirder XD Thought I'd do three chapters this weekend. Though I'll have to extend the definition of "weekend" a little since this is only the second one and it's already Sunday ^^". I'll manage somehow xP _

_So! Here's the answer to all your questions about "what happened to Thalia?". Yeah and nooow  
_

_****__**Please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LIV**

**Jason**

He woke up to Piper's voice, yelling at him. Wind was swirling around him and he felt like he was falling without a parachute. No wait, he _was_! Shit, he had passed out when he had tried to make 3 people and himself fly at once!

"Wake up! Jason, please! Come _on_!" the girl wrapped around his neck pleaded but there was also a hint of power in her voice. Since she did have the most powerful voice Jason had ever heard, he certainly did open his eyes in the next second looking to the ground. Okay, 100 meters left maybe?

Crap.

Jason willed the winds to support him and he grabbed onto the other two he held tighter so he was able to get them up with him. Piper beside him relaxed visibly and smiled at him, a relieved expression on her face. Grover and Yuki, who had both been screaming their heads off now stopped and breathed hard, their eyes pinned on the floor they had almost been smashed at.

"Jason, don't try to push yourself too hard! You don't have to keep us up in the air, just cushion the fall!" Annabeth's voice could be heard from above him. Oh yeah, the daughter of Athena she was certainly right with what she said –no surprise there. The son of Jupiter didn't have the strength to maintain at this height, he might just have enough power to actually keep them from breaking every bone in their bodies by cushioning the fall just before the impact.

So he took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright. Hold on tight, guys!" he said and then let the wind go where ever it wanted to, making them freefall to the ground again. This time, it only lasted for about two seconds though so Jason had to be super careful they weren't hitting the ground the hard way. He converted his eyes to slits and just in time, he willed the winds to get beneath them as much as he could manage, giving it pretty much the rest of power he could offer. Even though he did, they all landed on the ground rather painfully. Yuki fell over immediately, Grover somehow managed to land on his hooves and Jason himself managed to land on his feet alright but due to Piper's weight that was suddenly much heavier than in the air somehow, he dropped over and landed on his side, Piper on top of him. He received a sudden pain in his shoulder and grabbed for it, half screaming even though snow was all over his face.

"Oh gods, sorry! Is everything alright, Jason?" Piper asked, quickly getting up. She seemed pretty shaken but about okay for someone who just dropped off a plane. Jason shook his head and tried to get up, which was difficult with his shoulder. Crap, what had happened? It hurt like Hades.

"Obviously not.." the daughter of Aphrodite concluded, a worried expression on her face and she leaned down to him, examining his shoulder. Jason felt uncomfortable about the attention. His head was still dizzy from passing out and he had used so much of his wind power he felt like dropping dead on the spot. After all, he had used it on the plane as well, while flying. Plus, he was tired and obviously the only one of them who didn't sleep. But he said none of that to Piper, acted like everything was alright and brushed her hand off his shoulder.

"It's okay, I'll manage." He said and looked away from her so she wouldn't notice his real situation. He doubted it would fool her though. When it came to his constitution, Piper was pretty observant. She just nodded though and stood up, helping him stand.

Leo and Annabeth landed relatively good beside them, even though the shoes seemed to have hit their limit as well, they disappeared from Leo's feet a meter above the ground, making the two demigods drop down to their buts. Since Annabeth had been in Leo's arms, she had the better end of it but also looked as if that wasn't the best of experiences.

"Ouch." Was the only comment Leo gave before trying to stand up, rubbing his butt.

"That's what you get for touching mine." Annabeth commented and handed him a hand to help. Jason wondered what that was supposed to mean but didn't ask. That was mainly because he had just done a head count. He lifted his gaze and searched further but couldn't sight anything. A gulp formed in his throat and somehow he was afraid to ask…

"W-where's my sister…?" he asked, still grabbing his shoulder and when he saw Annabeth's smile fading, panic began to rise in his chest. No…no way… His blue eyes scanned around the group and he nearly waited for her to jump out from behind a bush or rock and yell "surprise!" or land next to him. But none of that happened and he let go of his shoulder, completely forgetting the pain. The others looked at him confused, then searched for her as well, eyebrows raised.

"Thalia? THALIA!" he yelled and wanted to start running. In the distance, he could see the smoke where the plane had crashed. If she had still been on there…no, that can't be… Without thinking, he began running in the direction. Suddenly, somebody grabbed his good shoulder, forcing him to stand. It was Annabeth and when Jason turned to look at her, the expression on her face hard to read.

"It's no use…You shouldn't yell around like this." she said, her voice strangely quiet but audible. Her grey eyes told him she was hiding something and Jason relaxed slightly, even if he didn't want to.

"But-" he wanted to protest. His sister was missing…they just dropped off the plane, somebody had played a trick on them and Annabeth wanted him to stop looking?

"I can explain what happened. Look, we two were the last ones in the plane, I tried to keep her going, make her jump down together with me. I put on her parachute and dragged her to the entrance. She struggled though and we were stuck at the last seat before the entrance, her parachute hung on the armrest hopelessly, creating a really tight knot and we didn't have much time to get it lose. I leaned down to do so but suddenly, Thalia had that expression on her face…it was like that time before she was turned into a tree…" Annabeth lost her voice, it was almost impossible to fully understand her now since there was so much weight in her tone, like this was surely dragging her down.

"S-she forced me to let go of her parachute and just pushed me out the door before I could do anything. I didn't see her jump, then Leo caught me…" her voice trailed away and she now looked to the ground, had long let go of Jason's shoulder.

The words dawned into the son of Jupiter like acid. He didn't know what to feel, what to think. Deep down he knew it wasn't Annabeth's fault but part of him wanted to yell at her and blame her anyway. Finally, he balled his fists and closed his blue eyes that seemed close before exploding with electricity. A moment ago, he had been so filled with determination to find her but now his old feelings were back. He was ready to drop, maybe even close to crying, he wasn't really sure about that. Something boiled inside him that wanted to be anger but he was so down and tired right now that the fire was barely noticed. In an attempt to calm himself, he breathed in and out slowly. Piper's hand touched his good shoulder now and she grabbed for his hand as well, pressing it slightly. Jason was glad for the comfort. Suddenly, Leo raised his voice. He hadn't completely realized what Jason felt right now it seemed because his sentence wasn't really something that fit in right here and now.

"Oh crap, we forgot out rucksacks!" he said and facepalmed. All demigods looked at him like he was crazy and Annabeth just shook her head, rolling her eyes. This sentence made the fire inside Jason explode. What the heck was Leo thinking?

"WHAT! Leo! My sister just most probably died and you're worried for your BACKPACK?" the blond took a step closer to his supposed best friend but was again interrupted by Annabeth. While she had looked devastated just a few moments ago, her expression was now stern and unreadable again.

"Thalia isn't dead." She said with certainty in her voice. Jason turned his head to her, looking completely confused.

"But you just said-" he interrupted himself and fully turned in her direction, pointing the way the smoke was still rising.

"Didn't you see that explosion? When she was still in that plane, there's just no way she'd make it out!" he said even though speaking it out load was just way much harder than just thinking about it. He grabbed for his shoulder again and winced, not only from the pain there but also from the hole that had opened up in his chest. The daughter of Athena just shook her head though.

"No, that's right. But the Thalia I know wouldn't just die that easily. We should go and see what's … left of the plane though. I have to agree with Leo that we won't get far without our backpacks." She paused and took a deep breath as if to steady herself for the next sentence. "But if we must, we could succeed without Thalia." She sighed and pressed her lips together, looking in the direction of the explosion and turning away from the others.

Wind roared in his ears. Jason didn't even notice how windy and cold it was down here until now, when the cold suddenly seemed to creep underneath his clothes. His glare was directed at Annabeth and even though he had felt a lack of power just a few seconds ago, he now felt the wind around him like he was it, whirling around angrily and directing his force at the daughter of Athena before him.

"How could you! How could you just say that, I thought you were her friend!" he yelled and his balled fist was clenched so hard he could feel his fingernails. Annabeth now turned around abruptly and was simply glaring back at him. If he was honest, that took him by surprise. He could swear that whenever he had been angry in his previous life until now, nobody had dared to talk back at him. Annabeth's grey eyes were without fear of him, she even took a step towards him now, glaring at him so furiously, Jason himself felt like backing down. There was a storm raging in her irises that made the son of Jupiter cringe and he blinked hard out of astonishment.

"Yeah, that's right! But I'm just speaking the truth, we would-" the furious daughter of Athena interrupted herself and suddenly blinked hard, looking at something behind Jason. Bewildered by her sudden reaction, Jason abruptly turned around, immediately regretting it because his shoulder gave him even more pain. But what he saw shocked even him. There was Annabeth's backpack, floating in mid-air. Just like that.

Then it started moving towards its owner and Jason quickly jumped out of the way, still not getting what happened. The backpack floated to Annabeth and out of instinct and still shocked, Annabeth took it in both hands, blinking hard.

"What in Hades…" she wondered, when suddenly, she noticed a dim light under the flap of the rucksack. She wanted to reach out for it, when it began to move and came forward from under the flap. It was the little ghost light that had followed Annabeth around ever since they had been in that cave. Jason had always thought this was strange but now it seemed to have paid off. Even though Annabeth was still kinda confused and shocked, she now smiled slightly and let the light swirl around her hand.

"Thanks, you don't seem so bad after all." She said and shook her head in amusement. Then she looked back at Jason, seemingly calmed down. They both seemed to notice how much they had been in blind rage because of the loss they believed to have experienced. Jason now also noticed how the others reacted, which he had blended out until now. Piper looked devastated, still holding his hand, which he was glad about. Yuki looked shocked but as if she didn't know how to react exactly –probably because she only knew Thalia for today-and Grover sat on the ground, his hands in his hair and looking to the ground, eyes wide open. He seemed severely shocked and close to a breakdown. Annabeth on the other hand took another deep breath and finally looked back at Jason.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it personal. It's just….my mother often says wisdom isn't always what you want to hear." She paused and turned around in the direction of the fire, her hands balling to fists and her posture straightening. She put on her rucksack and made it fit directly around her back, clicking the fasteners around her waist.

"But it's what you need for a quest light this. Come on guys, let's find Thalia."

And with these words, she walked away, the others and Jason following behind her through the wind that just kept getting stronger.

* * *

_Yeah well, let's see what's left of the plane xP And let's hope there aren't any bad surprises...as if they ever got off _without_ any big surprises *muhahah*. Sorry that this chapter was so pointless but I wanted to clarify this and show you a little what their reactions are and how they manage in the end. What do you think about that little light btw? XD_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**


	57. The Queen of the Skies gives a Quest

_February, 6th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Yay, Roman chapter! Didn't we all miss Percy? xO This is what happens to him after Reyna and the others found out. I know the Greek chapters aren't the best atm but I had fun at least writing the Roman :D You'll be surprised (positively I hope) at the end ;D_

_And yeah, I actually made it. One chapter in one day and it again has almost 4000 words. I'm proud of myself a little xP My story is under the top 40 stories for the most words for the PJ-Category here on btw. Don't know if that's something to aim for, I just noticed today...haha ^^"  
_

_****__**Please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LVII**

**Percy**

Hades, it was dark down here. The son of Poseidon sat down on the stone floor and sighed. Yeah, Poseidon. Since this overly happy announcement the Empousa Kelly did tonight, Percy was sure he was a Greek. That had rang a bell all along but he didn't say something load, expecting exactly this reaction. Not that he had exactly known it, it was just this feeling that he wasn't Roman and the things that were said, like that the Oracle and the earth woman called him "son of Poseidon". This felt so much better to him, familiar and all.

Now he got the credit for not saying anything. After that announcement, Reyna had been close to slicing him to pieces. He was lucky that the other campers had brought water from the sea to seal the monsters, Percy had been able to hold her off and keep her from attacking him. Of course, it had only made her angrier but hey, he could try, right? So the next thing he knew, he had Hazel and Bobby holding his arms behind his back and he decided it was better not to struggle any more. Whatever Reyna wanted to do with him now, he couldn't do so much about it. What should he do, run away? Yeah right, as if the wolves would let him. And even if he would, what should he do as soon as he got out? The only hunch he had was that his past had something to do with the girl named Annabeth he had seen in his dreams and that wherever they had been at the beach, it was near New York. Then again, that was supposed to be impossible. Styx, why was this all so confusing?

Anyway, when Hazel and Bobby had grabbed him, Reyna was still furious, the glares she shot him made even him cringe. Gods, she looked as if he was the worst of enemies, even worse than those monsters they had just fought. She held her sword at Percy's throat and her glare told him that if he made a sound, he would be death meat. The green eyed demigod just returned her glare and his eyes narrowed. She wasn't able to cut him anyway but he also didn't want to push it so he tried the diplomatic approach.

"Reyna, look, it's not like-"

"Quiet, Graecus. I don't want to hear another word from you. Ever." She looked at Hazel as if asking her what she said to this matter. The grey eyes glared daggers into Percy's neck and her voice was even colder than Percy had ever heard it.

"Perseus is his full name, that's a Greek demigod from a myth. He doesn't speak Latin, the Oracle as well as the earth woman called him Son of Poseidon and his sword has a Greek name as well. And those are only a few of the clues. I say we'll be nice and just kill him right away. Greeks were never welcome here, I wonder why he was even let in."

"NO! You can't do that! Why do you even care where he comes from, he saved my life, he defeated the skeleton and he helped us against this army _and_ so many other things. Why do you even care? You liked him until that stupid monster said that! How do you even know she told the truth? Percy, tell them she just lied!" it was Dakota, trying to save Percy, which he was very grateful for. Unfortunately though, Hazel had a point. The gaze of his green eyes lowered and he sighed.

"I'm sorry Dakota but it's true. My full name is Perseus Jackson and as the Empousa said, I'm a Greek demigod, son of Poseidon." Hazel now grabbed his arm tighter at this and glared at him.

"So the whole memory thing was faked? You know where you are from? Then tell us, shameful intruder!"

"No! I was honest with the memory thing. I woke up at the wolf house, Lupa can tell, she even told me my memories where taken, you heard her! She knew who I was and still let me in!" he tried to defend himself, even though the attempt probably looked kinda miserable while he was hanging between the other two demigods. Gwendolyn looked at him with a mixture of worry and pity, not saying anything. This was what she knew all the time, Percy just knew it. She had feared exactly this reaction from the others and she couldn't do much about it. He just felt how cruel it could be to know the future but not being able to change it. That also felt familiar. Suddenly, a voice behind her made them all cringe. This was the first time since his stay here that Percy was glad to see her: Lupa.

"He's right. I knew who he was all the time. You cannot just kill him though, he is important to what happens with our future. But for now, as I see how you are all taking this, which I understand, I let you decide what to do with him, Reyna. He must not be harmed, other than that we'll have to see…" she gave him a look that told him not to protest this time but also that she didn't mean it the rude way. Then she smiled and suddenly seemed to change tongue again. This time, Percy was able to understand perfectly though.

"_I'm just giving them the chance to take their anger out, you can think about my task while you're not training."_ She said with a smirk and then turned away, leaving a confused crowd and an almost smiling Percy. That wolf…like he could think about that task just now, when his supposed friends planned to kill him.

"What did she just say?" Reyna said, her face utterly puzzled. Even though she seemed confused, Lupa's talk also seemed to have calmed her anger down a little. Good, he wasn't in the mood to die today. Not that that would be so easy but he still knew there was a way. And he didn't want to find out how well that method worked.

"That was Greek. I didn't understand it either though. I bet Percy did." Hazel said, frowning. Dakota looked at him, eyebrows raised but seemingly impressed.

"You did? That sounded like total nonsense to me!" she said and finally seemed to relax, glad that Lupa forbid Reyna to kill him. Percy was impressed but also really glad to see how she still didn't hate him, Gwen as well even though they made it clear that Greeks were the Roman's worst enemies as it seemed. He now nodded and smirked.

"Yeah well, it comes naturally to me just as Latin does to you guys, I guess." That made Reyna catch up again. She stepped forward and pointed directly at his nose, her glare directed at his eyes.

"Alright, I had enough of this crap. We'll take a room in the white house and discuss this with just our legion. The rest of you: Back to sleep!" she ordered the other demigods around them. Some seemed to be disappointed because they wanted to hear more, others seemed relieved because they were just here in their armor and pajama, making it really cold to just stand around. So they made their way over the meadow, Percy still not able to walk properly with the two people grabbing his arms really tight. In the main building, they questioned him –which of course was pretty pointless- and discussed how the heck Greek demigods could even exist. Since Percy was tired of projecting their anger on him, he kept quiet in this conversation until finally, Reyna told them to put him into the prison they had in the basement.

And that was where he was sitting now, and it wasn't even close to what he could have had in tent three. The floor was cold and out of solid stone, same as the walls. There was water dripping down from the ceiling somewhere in the back and there was a bed in the corner that didn't really look comfortable seeing as it was just some kind of wooden plank with a thin mattress on it. Somewhere in the back there was also a really small bathroom, which seemed strange to Percy but he was somehow glad, seeing as it would be nasty if there wasn't one, you know? But on the other hand…wouldn't that mean that he would be in here for quite some time? He sighed and trotted over to the mattress, putting himself in a lying position and closed his eyes.

There was a soldier standing in front of the cell, Percy supposed it was some minor god kid. He had begun snoring while leaning against the wall a long time ago and since Percy's sword was long back into his pocket even though they had taken it away from him, the teenager did have the possibility to get out of here. There was no point though. He still had so little of his memory and so little clue about what was going on here that he just had the feeling in his chest he had to stay here, no matter what. And even though these people now really hated him, he had befriended with them and a certain part of his head was sure that he never left anybody he called his friends alone or abandoned. If not for Hazel, Bobby and Reyna, then certainly for Gwen and Dakota. They didn't despise him yet, even now he could see Gwen trying to quietly talk sense into Reyna while Dakota started a fight with Hazel. He had to smile at the mental image of that.

Even though the mattress wasn't really comfy, Percy somehow managed to fall asleep despite that it was the middle of the night. There was one bright side to all this being-in-a-cell-thing: He didn't have to wake up early and go to that stupid march. Again, there were no dreams of Annabeth but also none of that freaky earth woman, which he was glad about. He just drifted off to some places he still vaguely had in mind from that memory trip Gwen gave him. Like that palace above the clouds or the beach he had been at in another dream. All of them were empty though, no soul there, which was strange to him somehow. Other than that, he slept pretty crappy, seeing as it was uncomfortable where he was and he was somehow not really at ease inside because of what happened that night.

The next day was pretty much the most boring day since he came here. He could just stare at the wall, eat what he was brought and notice whenever his guard was switched. He got a bright end of it when the twins from the Venus cabin had their turn. Reyna seemed to avoid the first legion ending up here but she didn't seem to know that Percy knew the twins so he got some updates from them about what was going on outside. Reyna was still mad and seemed to let out her bad mood on everybody else. Hazel had closed herself in the library, trying to find out more but seemed to be without success, since she always came back even more frustrated, saying something about removed paragraphs and books that should be there but weren't. Gwen was meditating with the oracle, Bobby was pretty much glued to Reyna's side, agreeing with her about Percy –which wasn't much of a surprise. The twins said their whole tent long knew that he was crushing on her- and Dakota nerved Reyna out for permission to get down to talk to Percy but since Reyna just didn't give in, Dakota had told her two sisters to volunteer so they could at least tell him he wasn't completely hated and they were on it. Again, Percy couldn't thank them enough. That alone already made him feel better and he got a nice chat with the two, mainly about horses and the Castra until they were replaced by some guy from Mars' tent, which got Percy back to his wall-staring-business again. He didn't have his necklace with him and since the guard didn't know about the fact that his weapon was with him, he tried to summon his water powers on a puddle next to his bed. He let it take some new forms and since he didn't have anything to do today anyway, it didn't drain that much of his energy either. It was clear to him that Lupa didn't mean her words about that essence thing this way but he had no freaking idea what this whole stuff was about so he just stayed with what he already got and tried to improve it.

Night fell but since his room was without windows, he didn't notice much of it. He only knew that it was after breakfast, when suddenly, the door opened and Dakota came in. Percy looked up, surprised, as did the guard. It was some kind of minor god kid, he was Percy's height but rather slim and looked shy.

"Hey! No visitors, that's what Preator Reyna-" he began to lecture Dakota but the daughter of Venus seemed to have another plan. She stepped closer and smiled at the demigod, a sweet smile that seemed to wrap around him like a carpet and soothed him in a really strange way.

"You didn't really want me to leave, did you? You just wanted to get outside and get yourself something to drink. Go. Good boy." She said and the guard just nodded quickly, like that was the best idea in the world and stormed outside.

"Wow, that was scary." Percy stated and got up from his bunk, grinning at Dakota. The blonde grinned back and even giggled a bit.

"Yeah, some of them are so easy to manipulate. So, how're you doing down here? Pretty boring, huh?"

"Oh yes, that sums it up. I've been sitting around all day, never been so inactive in my whole life I guess. Is Reyna already out of her mind about ways to get me out of her sight?" he stepped closer to the bars that separated his room from the guards and Dakota stepped right in front of them, smiling sadly.

"I'm so sorry about this. And honestly, I don't know what's with them. Yeah, the Greeks weren't our best friends and all but I think Reyna and Hazel are being so immature about it. It's not like you came here to declare a war or something." She lifted her hands up and shook them, looking at him jokingly. Percy just shook his head and smiled.

"That was never my intention. Do I look like a declaration of war to you?" he asked and Dakota was now the one to shake her head.

"No, not at all, Perseus. I like your full name by the way. Has a nice ring to it. Hazel said he had a myth. What was it?" she asked and now leaned against the wall beside the cell, gliding down so she would sit on the floor. Percy followed her example, his expression thoughtful.

"Mh…I think I remember a bit of it…he was the guy who freed the Princess Andromeda from her chains and kept her from being eaten by a monster, which he defeated and then he got married to princess. Ah and I guess he was the one to kill Medusa or something. One of the heroes with a happy ending." He laughed drily and shook his head. "Doesn't look like I share the last bit with him." He closed sarcastically and lifted his gaze to the ceiling. Dakota just smiled.

"I don't think so. You should never be too harsh about stuff like that." She was quiet after that, leaving Percy to wonder what the heck she meant. But she didn't continue with it, changing the subject when she spoke again.

"So, Gwen is still meditating, couldn't get her from leaving the Oracle. She seemed in some kind of trance. But when I spoke to her, she said that there will be a solution to this. I don't know what she meant but since she's mostly right about what she says, I just hope that doesn't change right now." She looked at the bars of the cell as if she was thinking of a way to break them and if that would help.

"Guess you'll have to stay here a while until we manage to get Reyna out of her anger phase. That'll happen, don't worry we had the same problem shortly after Jason went missing, she was practically uncontrollable." She laughed and waved her hand like that was no big deal. Percy just nodded and thanked her honestly.

Dakota had to leave shortly after that because the next guard didn't look like he would fall for Dakota's tricks that easily – It was a girl from Apollo's tent- and it was bed time anyway, Percy didn't want Dakota to get in trouble with the wolves. Percy soon went to bed himself, this time he was able to fall asleep a lot faster.

* * *

_And after a few minutes of drifting through strange dreams of moving mud, suddenly something in front of him took form. It was a woman, elegant and tall, sitting in some kind of white marble room. She had chocolate brown hair that was woven into a pony tail together with golden ribbons. The dress she wore was white and her eyes seemed to radiate so much power that Percy was almost frightened to look into them directly. If this woman wasn't a goddess, he'd eat a horse._

"_Hello, Percy. Nice seeing you again." Her full lips smiled though somehow, the smile didn't reach her eyes. At first sight, Percy would guess that she looked like an average mom but on second view, she seemed to judge him by seeing him as if she thought of him lowly. That was when it hit him. He knew this goddess. Yes, he knew her very well…._

"_You're Hera…queen of the gods."_

_For a moment, he didn't believe his own words. There was no way a goddess, especially not this goddess would appear in his dreams, right? Then again, he gained the feeling of recognition again, as if he was used to strange dreams, dreams that no normal child or teenager would have. The son of Poseidon hesitated for a moment, then remembered what Lupa taught the soldiers. She liked respect very much and a faint memory told him that the wolf goddess wasn't the only one to feel that way. So he took a deep breath, bowing only his head slightly. That was all he could handle at the moment and that was already pretty disgusting for his taste. Just a few hours ago, he would've liked to show Reyna just how much of a Greek he was, ignoring every order she gave and just break out of that stupid cell. Therefore, he really wasn't in the mood for more discipline. Strangely, Hera seemed surprised by his bow, even if it was just a tilt of the head. She raised an eyebrow and then really smiled, seemingly amused._

"_Impressive, Lupa did a number on you. The last time we met alone you insulted me to be a bad mother and that you didn't care about me helping you. But this time you're bowing? I choose you well to be my wielder of hope." She motioned her hand and a chair appeared right next to Percy as if she was telling him to sit down. Percy wanted to protest, tell her that he wasn't in need for a chair but her gaze was imperious so he just sighed and sat down. Hera looked at him for a long time, examining him from his black hair to his jeans. She didn't continue and finally, Percy just farted at the respect and decided to speak. He immediately felt better._

"_What do you mean by 'wielder of hope'? I don't feel like the wielder of anything. After all, I didn't even know my name when I woke up in that wolf house." He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, glaring at the goddess with suspicion. The woman just shook her head as if she had expected him to act this way, brushing her hand over a golden bracelet at her arm._

"_You just couldn't withstand, right? You really are the son of your father, Percy. So moody…" she paused, gazing at him as if this was a terrible insult. Moody wasn't a bad thing…right? But her imperious look told him something else. She hated him. Not just him, he got the feeling that counted for every demigod on this earth. Something in his head reminded him that Hera was the least friendly and least helpful goddess to exist. Why was she talking to him then? _

"_But yes, the memory thing…That's for me to blame. It was necessary for my plan to work. I need your help, Percy. I, the queen of the gods was captured by my husband's greatest enemy who trapped me in the wolf house." Percy now was totally puzzled. A goddess could be captured? What crazy power was able to do such a thing? He waited for her to continue and since she stayed silent, he just decided to ask. _

"_So…you want me to free you or something?"_

"_No."_

_"Oh…okay. Just assumed that because you mentioned you were…captured. And that wolf house you mentioned is just up the hill, right?" he tilted his head in question. Wasn't that the logical way to think? He was so close, wasn't it logical just to ask Lupa to send some soldiers up to save her?_

"_I just said no because that isn't your duty. I already received help for that and am free now. My offer for you is something else. Something equally important. I need you to tell Lupa that it's time. And I need you to be part of the quest. You have to be part of it, understood? Convince them for me." Now, Percy was really confused. His green eyes looked at the queen goddess and all he had in his head were questions._

"_What? Which quest? Convince them? Why should they-" he began but Hera interrupted him._

"_Shush. It's time for me to leave. One last thing: Remember what Lupa told you about the essence of your power, your fathers power. We'll meet again, Perseus Jackson…." _

And with these words, the dream faded and Percy awoke with a start, staring at the stony ceiling with wide green eyes.

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, Hera visits. And there's a quest! Finally :D I'd like to point out that the Romans have still not caught up with the time the Greeks are in now. It's a bit confusing but beware: By the time they will, the picture Rachel painted is going to occur ;P Something to look forward to, huh? :D_

**Hope you liked it! Please tell me what you think!**


	58. Another Prophecy

_February, 11th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Meh, guys D: I was a little disappointed in you last weekend :/ I thought with three chapters in a row, I'd get a little feedback from you but no such luck D8 Don't be so mean to me, I didn't do you anything (at least not that I know of) :( *sniff*_

_Oh well, I'll keep going anyway. If I'm not doing this for anyone out there, then at least for myself, because I keep regretting every story I began and then didn't finish. I promise, there will be a reunion but I also promise that it will be different from what you've read until now and certainly more dramatic. So stay put, it's not that long of a way to go :D_

_Btw, I wanted to upload this yesterday but the side wouldn't let me log in...strange x_x So the chapter upload is delayed, one today, one on Monday :) Sorry 'bout that but it's not my fault D:  
_

_****__**Please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LVIII**

**Percy**

When that dream of Hera got him awake, he didn't know what time it was. The teenager stood up immediately and rushed over to the bars, grabbing them and yelling at the guard.

"What time is it? Let me out, I have to talk to Lupa immediately!" the demigod in charge however just raised his eyebrows and looked at him like he didn't believe what he was hearing. It was one of those bulky sons of Mars Percy had seen on the same table with Reyna the other day. He didn't seem to be threatened by the son of Poseidon much but he looked at him reluctantly.

"It's 7:30 in the morning and you are not allowed to leave this cell under any circumstances." He said and went back to staring at the opposite wall. Great, for once he got a serious guard and that was when he really needed to leave.

"Oh come on! At least let me talk to Reyna! This is important!" Unfortunately though, mentioning his half sister didn't really work on the dude. He just shrugged and ignored him. Argh! Percy knew that when the Queen of Heavens sent him a quest personally, it had to be urgent. He had to talk to somebody and there wasn't going to be anybody significant down here until Dakota had the chance to show up again –he didn't even know _when_ that would be exactly- and then he couldn't be sure how she could help him.

The son of Poseidon walked from one wall to another, impatience running through him. Finally, without thinking it through any further, he got out his pen, uncapped it and slashed through the lock of the door precisely as if he hadn't done anything but break out of cells his whole life. The guard was stunned but he didn't even have time to react because the next thing he knew, Percy had slammed the hilt of his sword into his helmet, knocking him out cold. He closed the door behind and ran down the hallway, through the arrows and other traps that were supposed to keep him from escaping and had to be locked off by the guard. All of them just bounced off his skin but he dodged or slashed most of them anyway because his clothes didn't have to be completely torn when he got out. They still received several cuts and burns though. So when he finally found his way through the labyrinth of tunnels down here –which was really big and confusing- he saw the day light again.

The light that now fell through the windows blinded him and he had to stop for a moment to make his eyes comfortable with the change of brightness. Then he turned to the left, his feet now walking on marble instead of blunt stone. Making his way to the entrance of the building, he suddenly turned around a corner and almost bumped into someone, who squeaked and dropped what she had in hand. Just in time, she managed to catch it again and stared up at him, as did Percy.

"Percy! What the heck are you doing- how did you…" Dakota stood before him, completely bewildered. Of course. He wasn't supposed to have his weapon after all and with his torn clothes and sword in hand he had to give away a pretty wild and disturbing look. But he ignored Dakota's expression and what she had in hand and just blurted it out. His breathing was strangely normal even though he had run the whole way. Probably the result of Roman training finally kicking in.

"I have to talk to Lupa immediately. It's urgent." He said and now put the cap of his sword back on so it shrank into the pen, which he shoved into his jeans pocket. Dakota was wearing full armor while Percy just stood there in his normal purple shirt and jeans but judging from Dakota's expression, he didn't look normal at all. She blinked, tilted her head and then shook his head, sighing.

"And you thought it would help to break out of your cell instead of waiting for me? Well, if you come to Reyna like this, she'll think you're plotting something, that won't exactly help, would it? I was just on my way down there to bring you breakfast, you know?" she rubbed her sleeves, then looked back at his clothes and suddenly smiled. Percy realized that she was right. If Reyna found out he had broken out of the cell, she would probably interpret it completely wrong. He hadn't thought this through fully. The daughter of Venus on the other hand seemed to have a plan. She dragged him along the hallway, giving him his breakfast, which he ate as fast as he could. They reached a room that was so full with clothing and armor that Percy wondered why he hadn't been in her before, seeing as he didn't have much clothes to change in when he came here. Instead, somebody had always brought him something to wear, obviously also from here.

The room was filled with broad shelves on all sides and they were as high as the ceiling went. Neatly folded and sorted by size, one shelve was filled with T-Shirts, other ones with sweaters, another with jeans, armor, disguise and so on. He even discovered a weapon section and there was a whole mountain of something that looked like small metal cubes. Without giving him much time to ask her about everything, Dakota ran to the lines of shelves and gave Percy certain clothes, then pointed at a corner, where there was place to change behind some kind of paper wall. The son of Poseidon just nodded, still a little stunned and changed in the new clothes, transferring his sword there as well.

Finally, Dakota led him outside the building and they rushed over to where they thought Lupa was supposed to be right now. Unluckily, Reyna was there as well. It was the newly build sword arena, now even bigger and even more impressive. When they had build it, Percy had asked why and Hazel had just commented "I had a few new plans for this building anyway, wasn't that bad that we have to rebuild it fully." As if that was no big deal at all. Well anyway, they were now standing in the middle, Lupa sitting at the side and to be precise, the whole first Legion was there. They didn't start with the training though as breakfast had just been over, maybe waiting for Dakota.

But as Percy walked in together with the blonde, all heads of the first and partly second legion turned towards them. Reyna was too stunned to react angrily, she just stared and opened her mouth to say something. The goddess of wolves also turned and Percy gave her a short bow –he felt that was probably appropriate after breaking their cell door and knocking out the guard- before addressing her.

"_Madame Lupa. I have something important to tell you. The Queen of heavens, Hera just visited me in my dreams. She told me that we are all in grave danger and I should tell you that 'It is time.'"_ He finished and looked up again, standing straight and hopefully looking more confident than he felt. Reyna just stared at him, her fists clenched, as did Hazel but she just had her arms crossed and shook her head. He had intentionally spoken in Greek though, not knowing if it was okay for the others to hear. Gwen was obviously not present, he didn't know why but didn't see her around. Bobby stood behind Reyna and now placed a hand on her shoulder, maybe to keep her from running to Percy and strangle him or something but the son of Mercury glared at him just as murderously.

Lupa on the other hand studied him for a long time as if he was taking in what he was saying and how he was appearing. Then she smiled –if wolves did that- which was a strange thing to see though she didn't really look happy, it was more of an ironic smile.

"I had feared this would happen soon. Alright, if Juno insists, there will be a quest. Reyna, summon the Senate, I need to organize a few things. In an hour at the usual place." Then she was suddenly gone, disappearing in some kind of swirl in the air. Percy blinked hard but the others seemed to have seen this before because they didn't react to it further. Much more, they now all stared at him until finally, Reyna marched forward. She still seemed like she was holding back not to punch or attack him but she swallowed and breathed in heavily.

"Perseus-" she began but the son of Poseidon automatically interrupted her without thinking.

"Percy." As soon as it was out, he regretted it. Reyna almost seemed to steam from her ears our of rage but held herself back. He shouldn't have pushed it any further but the words had come out automatically.

"Don't interrupt me, Graecus! Fine, _Percy_, what happened exactly and why aren't you where I…told you to be?" _Nice way of putting it_, Percy thought. But he just scratched his cheek and answered, figuring that honesty was maybe the best right now. Reyna would find out anyway.

"I kind of…busted out. You should maybe take care of your half-brother, don't think I hurt him though." He said but seeing as Reyna seemed _really_ close to attacking him, he quickly added: "Look, I'm sorry. But this was urgent. I had a vision from Juno in my dream, she told me to talk to Lupa. I didn't mean to attack him but he wouldn't listen to me. Let me at least explain myself properly before you decide what to do. Please, Lupa said there was some kind of meeting from the Semat or something, right?" he looked around for help. Dakota stood behind him, that was already enough for him but still, there were so many angry stares…he couldn't quite believe that was just because they found out he was Greek. Finally, Hazel was the one to break the silence.

"It's the _Senate_, Jackson. And yeah, we'll have a meeting in an hour. Reyna, when Lupa insists, there's no other choice. Please calm down and announce the meeting already, an hour is barely enough to change." Reyna didn't seem pleased but she turned around, nodding and dismissing the others.

"Change? Into what?" The son of Poseidon quietly asked Dakota, who giggled knowingly.

"Oh, I think you're going to like it…"

* * *

"No way! I'm not going to wear a dress!" Percy complained and shoved away the turquoise toga Dakota handed him. They were in his cabin and Gwen was sitting in a chair nearby, watching them with slight amusement on her face. Dakota also grinned but insisted and placed the thing in his arms.

"You have to. We all do." She said, still not wiping the smile from her face.

"Yeah, but you are girls!" he looked from one of them to another until he finally sighed, defeated.

"Alright, if it's only for the meeting…" he said and unfolded the fabric, uncertainly wrapping it around himself. Dakota helped him out and finally, he was wearing the long toga above his jeans and regular white shirt. Dakota herself wore a pink one and together with her makeup and white top, it almost looked fashionable. She had also braided her hair over one shoulder and really looked like she was some kind of maiden from ancient Rome. Gwen was wearing a golden toga which seemed to make her glow somehow as well as her green eyes. The son of Poseidon looked himself over in the mirror and his summary was:

On him, that simply looked ridiculous. The daughter of Venus behind him seemed to think otherwise, she kept talking about how he was so fitting for it and looked like a Roman leader blabla. They were now walking their way to the white house (walking in these things was hell by the way), where they were going upstairs to a room that was right below the one where Gwen had performed this memory magic on him.

"Finally. You're late." Reyna's voice sounded from the opposite side of the hall. In the doorway, Percy had to stop and stare at the room in amazement. It was gigantic for this comparably tiny building and a perfect circle. In the middle of the room, the Romans placed a gigantic round table with golden chairs that almost looked like thrones. The table was obviously out of marble, just as the walls and the floor were. Above the middle of the table on the ceiling, there was a giant eagle in the marble and underneath it, clearly readable the letters S.P.Q.R. in the same style it was on the tattoos the other soldiers had. They had tried to give him one too but it had been impossible, his skin was obviously not liking the idea of having a needle underneath it.

As for the Senate, it consisted of all the tent leaders. Since the first legion was comprised only of those, all the people Percy knew were already there. He also saw some soldiers he hadn't seen before and some he just knew from sigh or who had had sword training with him some day. Behind each chair, there was a symbol in the wall, the same kind as it was at the ceiling only that those were kind of brown, like they were burned into the wall. Reyna was sitting in front of a symbol that looked like the ones you see for "male" (Percy guessed that it was the symbol for the Planet –and god- Mars), wearing a red toga and looking a little more controlled than she had been in the arena. Right next to her, there was something that looked like a gigantic chair without a backrest on which the wolf Lupa was lying. On the other side of her chair, there was an empty one that was just as big as Reyna's chair, which looked exactly like Percy imagined a throne to look like and they were both bigger than the rest of the chairs. The empty one was the biggest though and Percy wondered silently if this was once Jason's seat, the one they all kept talking about. He himself sat in the chair right next to it, behind him the symbol of a trident and as he sat, he felt himself relax and relieved that he didn't fall down while walking in this dress. He still was uncomfortable about this whole senate thing but the others sat so stiff and formal that he was afraid of moving even though he felt like adjusting his toga at least once a minute. Each of the present demigods had metals on their toga as if they had earned something. Percy only whore the golden one everybody was wearing that had the symbol of his father together with SPQR on it and it was placed right above the spot where the hellhound had bit him, so to say the left shoulder. Finally, when everyone was settled, Lupa spoke up.

"Listen, Senate of the Castra Roma, also called New Rome. I assembled you here today because the fairly new member of the first legion, Perseus Jackson…" she paused so everyone looked at him and since he was surprised by that, he waved at them awkwardly. Obviously, that wasn't the right way to react because they now all looked at him oddly, despite Dakota, who giggled and Gwen, who just shook her head and smiled. Lupa ignored it and continued.

"…had a vision of the Queen of the Skies, Juno, visiting him in his dreams." She again paused because that seemed to cause some of the demigods to shift in their seats uncomfortably. Percy noticed how there wasn't any chair for the minor demigods, only 12 chairs plus Lupa in whole and he wondered why that was making him so angry inside. Apparently though, having a goddess of Olympus talk to you was a big deal because they all suddenly seemed kind of nervous as Lupa continued.

"She has issued us to start a quest. As you probably noticed, the boarders around the Castra are weakened. Or even worse, our enemy is strong enough to break through them." A few soldiers looked like they had questions but none of them dared to speak up while Lupa was still talking. Percy knew what they wanted to ask: Who _was_ their enemy?

"A long time ago, there was something that could now help us protect our Castra from even bigger enemies that are surely to come. And it would make our forces stronger. The walls of the wolf house are sacred and if anybody was to invade it, we are doomed. We need that item. It's the so called _**seal of the ocean**_. Unfortunately though, only the god Pluto knows where exactly it is placed and he was forced to not speak about it a long time ago. Therefore, we have to find it on our own." Lupa's eyes were now fixed on Percy as if he wanted him to react in some way. The seal of the ocean? What was that supposed to mean? He never heard of something like that and it also didn't ring a bell in his head so he guessed he also didn't hear about it before getting here. The others looked just as confused but nobody asked, so Percy just made his move.

"What do you mean, seal of the ocean? I never heard of something like that." All present demigods cringed and looked at him as if they awaited Lupa to jump at him. Lupa's muscles in fact twitched but she didn't move an inch though she seemed to be controlling herself intentionally.

"No, you certainly haven't, I assume. But that is not important now. The fact is that we need it, or we are all doomed and with us are the gods and our whole civilization."

"Wow, optimistic, are we?" Percy mumbled to himself, biting his lip so he wouldn't say it out loud as that was obviously a bad thing. Lupa may have heard him but she just continued.

"Therefore, I now pose the quest to all of you. Who do you suggest to send out to search for what we so desperately need?" Lupa looked around the table but nobody moved immediately, they all stared at the table and Percy wondered why. Weren't Romans supposed to be without fear and stuff like that? Some of the senate members seemed to think but Percy now stood up, certainty in his eyes as well as in his movements.

"I'll go." He said and his words echoed through the whole room. Immediately, Reyna stood as well. She looked like she had waited to tell him the following for a long time.

"No way! I imprisoned you for a purpose. You are a threat to all of us, I don't even know why you are still here or summoned to the senate. You are certainly _not_ going on a quest for _our_ Castra! I'll lead this quest and you're not going." Reyna sounded as angry as she had been since she knew he was Greek and this was beginning to make Percy sick. Rage rose inside of him and he slammed his fist on the table, not giving in just yet.

"I've had enough of your nonsense! I'm a demigod just as you are one, Reyna. I don't see why I shouldn't fight for my friends and the gods just like you want to! Didn't you listen? When this earth woman succeeds in what she is up to, whoever she is, our whole civilization will be destroyed. I don't know if you noticed but that would include everyone, not just New Rome. Olympus as well as all good places of Mythology that still exist will be destroyed. When she succeeds, it won't matter if you are Roman or Greek, do you think she will stop just because of the pretty bed sheet you're wearing?" a collective gasp could be heard throughout the senate and Reyna seemed speechless. Apparently, nobody had yelled at her like this before. But Percy didn't stop, he was on a roll now.

"Plus, Hera-"

"Juno." Reyna corrected him through glittered teeth. She had her fists clenched as well and seemed close to bursting. Percy decided to give in this time even though it had in fact been Hera.

"Fine, _Juno_ told me I needed to go. You'll need me for this, if you want it or not!" Reyna pressed her lips together tightly so they were almost white.

"I am not going to-" but she was interrupted, when surprisingly, Gwendolyn of all people rose from her chair. She moved slowly but surely and Percy saw that her eyes were opened wide and glowing green. As soon as she stood, she spread her arms and out of her mouth, a voice talked that was certainly not her own:

"_Child of the Sea, avert the ground._

_Behold, in gold thy target is drowned._

_With strongest force, you travel east._

_When five stars are crushed, thy scourge is released."_

_._

_._

_._

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah well, another prophecy. Wow, these things are kinda fun to do :D Didn't know rhyming in English could actually be so cool xP Yeah well, what do you think? Sounds good/bad? Yeah, no death is mentioned but let me handle that, there's more than just the prophecy to tell the future *muhahaha*_

_Btw I know the first line is kinda stolen from Jason's prophecy but that was my intention entirely ;P  
_

**Please tell me what you think of this chapter and the last! Maybe I uploaded too fast or something...mh :/**_  
_


	59. The shocked Ferret

_February, 13th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_I hope you had a nice weekend ^^ Mine was decent, I started playing Skyrim. Seriously cool game :o. Anyway, here's the other chapter I promised and you're now going to witness what the Greeks go through. It's not easy for them but when is a demigod life ever easy? ;P_

_And thanks so much for the reviews, I'll keep going guys :)_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LIX**

**Annabeth**

She felt devastated. Honestly, a big part of her knew that it wasn't her fault. But there was also a part that wanted to hit or stab herself just to be over with this whole pain. She couldn't bear this. First, Percy went missing. Now that she knew where he was, she discovers that he will most probably die. Then she has those dreams about him that showed only bad things in it, like him fighting Roman soldiers or him being bitten by a hellhound. Yeah, he had the curse of Achilles but could she still be sure that he was save? Probably not, since it was a curse, not a blessing after all and it was named like that for a reason. Their quest was starting to go terribly wrong from the beginning –well at least that part was normal. Annabeth hadn't been on any quest where everything went smoothly from the beginning- and now, of all people, they lose Thalia?

No, she couldn't be gone. Annabeth really couldn't stand that. Why were her best friends all so stupidly heroic? Thalia had shoved her out of the plane to save her, just like she had stood up to the monsters back when she had been twelve. It was scary, seeing the same look in her electric blue eyes and knowing what had happened after that. If her dad hadn't turned her into a tree back then, she would be dead for good right now. The daughter of Athena wasn't about to let that happen if she couldn't do something about it.

So they all stumbled alongside her through the snow, nobody saying a word, not even Leo was in the mood to joke around, which meant something. None except Annabeth had their backpacks and some didn't even have their full set of winter clothes. At least they all had their coats so nobody was freezing. Yuki didn't have one but she didn't need in anyway, she was looking ahead with a stern look on her face even if she was just dressed in a T-shirt and regular jeans.

"Storm's getting stronger…" she muttered and since Annabeth was next to her, only she heard it. The blonde frowned and looked ahead, her grey eyes the same color as the sky. Yuki was right, the sky behind the mountain, where the wind was coming from did seem darker all right. The blonde just cursed in ancient Greek and kept advancing.

"Where are we, anyway?" Leo suddenly asked behind her. Annabeth didn't stop walking but since nobody else answered, she decided to do so, even if she wasn't really in the mood to talk.

"Haven't you been here on your quest? It's Near Colorado Springs, this mountain over there is Pikes Peak." She nodded in the direction of a massive mountain they were just walking towards, the plane had crashed just at its food. Jason behind her gulped.

"We better not get any closer than we must, that wind god doesn't really like me…or demigods in general." He warned with a bitter tone in his voice and grabbed Piper's hand a little tighter, who nodded. Annabeth just kept frowning and silently agreed while walking a little faster now.

Finally, while their little group was completely wet and freezing up to their upper legs due to the thick layer of snow, they reached the spot where the plane had crashed. All of them, however cold they were, helped searching the wreck for Thalia or for their backpacks. The machine had left a gigantic smoking crater in the snow but nothing living was down there, that was for sure. Even parts of the metal that still remained were completely black. _This explosion was unnaturally big_, Annabeth thought. _What happened this time, who interfered?_

Jason seemed out of his mind with worry. Annabeth didn't blame him, she felt the same but tried to hide it. Grover on the other hand seemed a lot worse off than her or Jason. Maybe he was just not able to hide it as well as the other two though. Annabeth grabbed his shoulder and looked him in the eye. _We'll find her. I have a feeling she survived,_ her gaze told him and the Satyr slowly nodded but still didn't look completely sure. It was hard on him too, after all. First Percy now Thalia…as if Gaea tried to get their hopes down piece by piece, taking their strongest demigods first so they would be even more shaken. After they were all back together, Piper raised her voice first. Even she seemed really down, glancing at Jason with worry.

"What're we going to do now? We don't have transportation to continue and Thalia wasn't…here." She finished with a small voice and looked over to the wreckage. Suddenly, both Jason and Yuki stiffened and their eyes widened.

"We need to get out of here." They both said in unison, staring up at the sky. All of them followed their gaze, confused.

"What? Why?" Piper voiced the other's questions and looked at the boy who stood close to her. Jason still looked at the sky, he was paler than ever.

"I gigantic storm is approaching." He said in a clear voice.

"A snow storm." Yuki added, which explained why she also felt it.

"But there already is a storm, it can't be much worse, can it?" Leo asked, frowning and gesturing at the already pretty strong wind around them that made his curly hair go into multiple directions at a time. Annabeth was glad she had a hat over her blonde hair to keep her warm. Not that it mattered right now anyway. Jason shook his head though looking really worried.

"Oh yes, it can. Let's get to the city or something, fast." He looked at Annabeth pleadingly and the daughter of Athena just nodded. She had long learned to trust hunches of demigods who had power over their father's or mother's realm. Like when Percy was at sea and sensed something coming. It was the same with Jason and the wind and she would never ignore something like that, it would be plain stupid. So she looked around, adjusting where exactly to go. Jason had grabbed his shoulder again and Annabeth began to wonder what happened to it, she had to look at that later. But for now, she pointed in a direction towards the city that looked like a path directly down, even though it looked dangerous.

"If we want to be fast, we'll have to take that road I guess. Jason, can you do it? What happened to your shoulder?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing, I'll manage somehow." He replied through glittered teeth. That showed the daughter of Athena just how bad this storm must be and she quickly followed the son of Jupiter, who had already wandered off.

Since the storm was getting really tough, Jason and Yuki now tried to protect them from the winds. It was clear that Jason was ready to drop. He had rings under his eyes and if it wouldn't be this cold, he would probably be sweating. Annabeth asked Yuki if she could keep the protection up alone so she did, which gave Jason the strength to at least get down from the mountain with them. As soon as they reached town, the storm seemed to have gotten a little lighter. Still, it was so cold and the wind was so freezing, that Annabeth was afraid none of them would survive for much longer than a minute if they didn't get in one of the houses at once. It was so cold that it was even hard to breath, she felt like her lungs were bursting from the cold and she didn't like the sound when Piper began coughing. The others didn't know where to go now exactly so Annabeth took the initiative and walked straight to one of the houses to ring the doorbell.

No reaction.

She waited for a few seconds but when there was no sound besides some small shadows she saw in the corner of her eyes, rushing from one side of the window to the other, she tried to open the door. It was unlocked, which seemed strange to her but it didn't matter, they needed cover and warmth if they wanted to live instead of freezing to death. So everyone now shoved inside and behind them, Annabeth locked the door.

There was a collective gasp, when the wind finally stopped and they could breath freely again. The daughter of Athena saw their blue fingernails and red noses and felt bad for dragging them up the mountain without a result. All of them shivered, even Leo seemed cold, though he was the one best off, next to Yuki maybe. The two were the first ones to be able to get up after they caught their breaths. When she finally had air again, Annabeth also stood up and grabbed Jason's wrist, which earned her strange looks from Piper and Jason himself. She just dragged the son of Jupiter with her and turned around while walking.

"Search the house for the people who live here, I'll take a look at Jason's shoulder." She said, which was just replied by a few tired nods. They had been sitting in some kind of small corridor until now, some on the stairs to the second floor, some on the floor right behind the door. It was a small house fit for one family just like the others down the road. Annabeth hadn't seen much of the other houses but she figured this was a neighborhood for the average American family to live in. She now dragged Jason across the small corridor to the first door there was on the left-hand side. She didn't know where it could take her but since she was pretty certain that mortals lived here, she didn't get out her knife. As it turned out, the glass door led to the kitchen and Annabeth ordered Jason to sit down at one of the chairs around the table. There were four of them and Jason decided for the closest one.

Without another word, Annabeth placed her backpack on the table and got out Nectar and Ambrosia. She didn't give it to Jason yet though, stepping closer to him and telling him to get off his jacket and let go of his shoulder now. He pressed his lips together but nodded, he let go and carefully undressed from his winter jacket. Good, at least he wasn't whiny. Wouldn't be fit for Thalia's brother though. The daughter of Athena examined his shoulder, carefully trying to move it and watched Jason's reaction to everything. There were strange noises that came from the second floor and the corridor but she ignored them. Jason glanced in the direction and raised in eyebrow but was interrupted when Annabeth began trying to move his shoulder again, which made him wince. Finally, she sighed, making a face.

"Your shoulder is dislocated. I can reset it but that's going to be pretty painful without local anaesthetization." She explained. Jason was still pale and looked exhausted but he nodded anyway.

"I see. Have you done that before?" he asked, which was logical. Nobody would want an amateur fix their shoulder. But Annabeth nodded.

"Yeah. There was that one time I was out to the cinema with Percy and we ran into that monster…And then in the Titan war when Will let me help- Yeah, I've done it before." She quickly concluded, not in the mood to get into details. Jason just nodded thoughtfully and finally straightened himself.

"Fine, do it. I won't be any help for you guys if I can't move my fighting arm." He said, even though he looked a little scared because of the pain Annabeth foretold. He hid it good though, looking grimly at the opposite wall. The daughter of Athena told him how to sit so she could grab his arm properly. She took the backrest as a support and placed his shoulder on top of it. Then she put one hand upon his band shoulder, the other one grabbed his upper arm.

"Ready?" she asked, steadying her stance. Jason nodded and closed his blue eyes tight. Annabeth pulled and there was a really strange sound from his shoulder. Jason cringed and winced but didn't scream, which the blonde found pretty impressive. Then again, Percy hadn't screamed either. But they had been in hiding back then so it would have been pretty bad if he did.

Jason tried to carefully move his shoulder again and his painful expression turned into a small smile.

"The pain is almost gone, thanks, Annabeth!" he took the Ambrosia and Nectar Annabeth gave him to cure the rest of the pain plus give him some strength back. The daughter of Athena just nodded in return, as if to say that it was no big deal.

Out of nothing though, a scream was heard from the corridor and the noises they had heard before became louder. Abruptly, the door of the kitchen, which hadn't been completely closed, opened and a shadow entered the room. Out of instinct, Annabeth threw her knife and the dagger landed stuck vertically between the white tiling of the floor, directly in front of a severely shocked ferret.

* * *

_Dudun XD. Yeah, a ferret. This will be an eternal mystery until next weekend :D. Btw, I haven't witnessed the reset of a dislocated shoulder until now, my knowledge is from Wikipedia. If I did something wrong, please tell me ^^". And that thing with Percy and the cinema happened somewhere between the summer and the day Percy went missing I guess. So the time where him and Annabeth were dating ^^ Maybe I'll write a separate story about that, we'll see :3_

**Other than that, how'd you like it? Dumb/stupid ideas? Interesting? Pleeease tell me! :D**


	60. A strange kind of Trap

_February, 17th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_And yet we finished another 10 chapters. How can I write that much? I don't know, really. I just love to describe everything and I'm sure if the whole thing is finished, it'll be like a book xD. For you though, it has to be unnerving to just read a little bit every chapter :/ I'm really sorry about that and so damn grateful for those who still stay with me! *hugs* I hope you will hold out 'till the end, you're really, really loyal, I love you for that T_T_

_Besides that: Yeah, I started playing Skyrim, you heard right ;P And no, it's not Frank XDD Didn't even consider that, after all, my fanfic comes after "The lost Hero" so adding Frank would just...I guess it would be really confusing, wouldn't it? O.o _

_To have a little different perspectives, you get Piper for once, I like writing from her POV somehow xP It's less depressing than writing Annabeth XD  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LX**

**Piper**

Piper didn't like leaving Jason and Annabeth alone in one room. Not that she was jealous or something. There was no way Annabeth could fall for Jason or vice versa. But she had seen the two argue after they found out that Thalia was…let's say missing. It had been scary. Not only had she really come to like Thalia so it was also shocking for her to see what happened, but seeing Jason fight with Annabeth, who was obviously not taking the news well herself just pained her inside. The daughter of Aphrodite could sympathize with the Architect, first her boyfriend and now her best friend? That couldn't be an easy thing to bear. It was understandable that Jason was upset too, since Thalia was after all his full blood sister and all, but still, yelling wouldn't help. Piper had been shortly before going in between them and using charmspeak. She was glad she didn't, that power of hers was still pretty disgusting to her and she certainly didn't want to use it on her friends.

Right now, her feet took her upstairs while her head wasn't really there. Leo had stormed ahead of her and Piper wondered if he was affected by this at all. Then again, hadn't he liked Thalia? As in 'you-wanna-go-out-with-me-pretty-girl?'-liked? Then he was hiding his feelings pretty well. Or maybe he just wanted to be alone. She looked around when she reached the top of the stairs. Leo yelled around something along the lines of 'somebody home? Friendly strange people settling in!' and Piper went in the other direction, as if that made her able to pretend not to know him. Still, this was the first thing that made her smile again today. Even though it was really early in the morning as Piper figured, there now was a weather outside that you could only call a storm. She was standing in the corridor upstairs, in front of a big window that had a broad windowsill to it that started around Piper's knees while the glass went up to the ceiling. It had to be well made because if it wasn't, the glass would have long shattered. Outside, there was a scenery the daughter of Aphrodite had never witnessed before. From up here, you could see several houses down the street but they all seemed deserted. How Piper knew that? Well, because nobody emptied the street or the cars from snow. And it looked like it had been snowing for quite some time, at least three days or more. It seemed a little unusual, right? She wasn't updated with the snow-free news in this city –of course not- but she was pretty certain that even if there was snow, people needed to get out of their house. And despite their own footprints, there were none in the front of this house and also not at the other houses or the street itself.

This was kinda creepy…

"What the heck? Wait!" a voice from the end of the corridor woke Piper from her thoughts. Leo ran out of the room and there was a little animal in front of him, running away from the son of Hephaestus. Piper couldn't blame the little animal, Leo looked pretty torn up and as if he hadn't taken a shower in a week. When it stood still for a moment, Piper could make out a ferret. She raised an eyebrow. Now what was that doing here? It raced directly towards the stairs, and since Leo wasn't exactly quiet, Yuki peeked out from down the stairs.

"Have you guys found something?" she asked, when her ice blue eyes went wide as the ferret ran directly towards her. She shrieked and quickly redrew from the stairs. Grover could be heard from downstairs.

"Guys, I found-" but he interrupted himself. Piper ran down the steps before Leo could reach them and there, in the middle of the corridor right before the front door, there were two ferrets, staring at the demigods and baring their teeth.

"Has anybody found any…well, humans?" Piper asked, frowning. Grover shook his head, as well did Yuki and Leo. Now the daughter of Aphrodite knelt down and stretched out a hand to the animals. She put power in her words to calm them. Well, she never tried it with ferrets but she just hoped that it worked.

"Hey, little ferrets. Where're your owners, huh? On holidays? Come here and be a good little ferret." And it worked, they both looked calmer somehow and Piper was able to even touch one of them and hold it in her arms.

"That looks so cool! Let me get the other one." Leo commented and reached forward without first leaning down. The ferret stared at him, terrified and obviously out of instinct, it bit Leo right in the fingers. The mechanic screamed and the other ferret in Piper's arms suddenly freaked and began climbing her jacket, curled himself in her hood and shivered like there was no tomorrow. Leo cursed something in ancient Greek that better should not be written down and the irritated animal ran down the corridor, right between the feet –sorry, hooves- of a stunned Grover and through the little gab in the door Annabeth and Jason had just gone though. Grover reacted fast though, pulled out his pipes and ran after it.

When all of them made it to the door, the poor little ferret was deadly shocked, sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor and Annabeth's knife was sticking out of the tiling right in front of it. The daughter of Athena herself looked pretty irritated and frowned at her four other friends suddenly standing in the kitchen door. Jason was sitting on a chair and had a piece of Ambrosia half-way to his mouth, staring at the small animal with a cocked eyebrow.

"Now what's this all about?" Annabeth asked and crossed her arms, shaking her head in disbelieve. Since Leo was still looking at his bitten fingers, Yuki was interested in the floor and Grover began playing his pipe to calm the animals, Piper stepped forward.

"We found nobody inside the house but these two ferrets. There are two sleeping rooms upstairs but no human being is in there." She explained and motioned to the ferrets, who now walked over to Grover and began to lay down near his hooves to sleep. The melody the satyr played was really soothing and made even Piper want to lay down and snore, even if it was still early in the morning. Annabeth's grey eyes looked at the animals with a thoughtful expression but she just nodded instead of voicing her exact thoughts.

"Alright. I guess then we'll just settle in. We don't have much of a choice anyway." Her gaze wandered outside the kitchen window, the storm made the glass vibrate and the amount of snow that fell down was now so massive that you couldn't really make out the little flakes but just saw a completely white curtain in front of the window. Piper had never seen something like this, it almost seemed unnatural…like somebody wanted to trap them here. But why?

She shook off the thought. That didn't make any sense. Why trap them in an empty house of mortals? What good would that do exactly?

They now began to explore a little more. Soon, they noticed that nobody human had been here for quite some time. There was dust on all surfaces, just sometimes interrupted by small footprints of the ferrets. The fridge was completely abandoned as if the owner of the house had fled or dropped dead. There was still food in there but some things like cheese and meat were completely ruined by mold, which made Piper gag because it was all really…well, green and disgusting. Annabeth –obviously the most mature one in the group at the moment- was the only one who dared to grab in there and sort out the things that could still be eaten or used for cooking. She dismissed everybody but Piper into the living room and decided that she would help her cooking. The daughter of Aphrodite was fine with that, Annabeth could obviously need a little privacy or comforting words.

Fortunately, the electricity, gas and flowing water in the house were still intact so Yuki was off for a shower and Leo ran around the house to heat up all the rooms they would be using. Annabeth decided to make spaghetti with tomato sauce for breakfast (technically, it wasn't really breakfast…you could say their whole day plan was kinda off anyway so they just decided for a warm meal after that much snow), she had found enough conserved ingredients for that. Piper didn't know how but the daughter of Athena had somehow found a secret mountain of conserved food the mortals had obviously been keeping. Piper had asked her how she knew where to look but her grey eyes just went a lot darker and her mood gloomier as if she was thinking back at something either unpleasant or something pleasant that was gone now so Piper kept quiet with her further questions.

They cooked in quiet for some time until finally, the charmspeaker decided to break the tension. Just when she was about to open her mouth, the door to the kitchen opened and none other than Jason walked in. He didn't say a word, took a kitchen knife and helped Piper cut the onions, standing between the two girls. Piper was glad about his company but not so certain that it was good for Annabeth to be so close to him right now. She seemed somehow gloomy and Piper really didn't want them to fight again. But Jason did something completely different, which astonished the brunette a little.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said after we crashed. I know you were really close to my sister. I don't blame you for anything. You've probably gone through much and I shouldn't judge you by the little time I know you." His hands had stopped moving and his blue eyes tried to look into Annabeth's grey ones. The daughter of Athena had just dropped the noodles into the cooking water and kept quiet for a little time, her jaw tensed. Then she finally smiled and shook her head.

"Why do you go off apologizing? We were both shaken back then, I don't blame you either." She sighed and finally looked up from the noodles. Her gaze was many things; apologizing, sad, grief-stricken, …it all swirled around in those grey pools but you could never be certain which one was the dominating one. She seemed to have more to say but decided against it, turning around to walk into the living room and tell the others that the noodles was ready soon. Piper –now alone with Jason- smiled at the son of Jupiter and took his hand that was not holding the knife.

"That was nice of you. She might not show it but I think she's grateful you took that step." Piper whispered so only he could hear.

Jason just nodded and finished slicing his onion. Then he helped Piper to lay the cloth and Annabeth returned from the living room to finish the sauce. Finally, they all sat down on the kitchen table, adding some chairs from the living room so all of them had a little space. Eating in quiet for a while, Leo –obviously- was the one to break the tension.

"Annabeth, what does that little ghost light over your head want with you anyway?" he asked with a grin on his face. They all looked up and in fact, the thing was still there, illuminating the room next to the lamp on the ceiling. It swirled around happily and sometimes rested on the blondes head. Annabeth frowned and then sighed.

"I don't know, really. It seems to be glued to my head ever since we've been in that cave. I thought they were enchanted to stay in there but obviously, this one doesn't care." She tried to shove it away but Piper smiled a little.

"I think it's cute. And it helped you, after all. Maybe we should name it." The daughter of Aphrodite looked around for suggestions.

"How about lumen or lux?" Jason suggested and ate another bite.

"Lemme guess, that's Latin for 'light'?" Leo asked and swirled his fork around. Jason nodded but Yuki looked confused.

"Why wouldn't you know that?" she asked. Piper decided to explain.

"We already told you we're Greeks. We speak ancient Greek and not Latin. Well, not very well at least." She said and Yuki looked at the others, who didn't protest and then nodded. Piper turned to the group again.

"That's already good but I don't think it's cute enough. How about…Lumi?" she suggested and as she did, the light swirled around more happily, this time around the whole table. Piper wondered to herself since when she wanted something to be cute but then decided it was because that light seriously was just that- cute. She would _not_ turn into one of these girls who jumped around and squealed all the time! Now even Annabeth smiled a little, which was a good sight to see.

"Oh, so Lumi it is, then? Then come on, Lumi, help me wash the dishes." She joked and then stood up since everybody was finished.

After all of them had taken a bath or a shower and settled themselves on a bed upstairs or a couch downstairs, they spent the rest of the day in the living room. Leo had created a fire in the fireplace and the canapés were now assorted around it so they could all grab part of its warmth. Annabeth had told them they shouldn't waste that much heating and light cost since it wasn't their house so they kept the gas in the other rooms down and turned the television on only if they wanted to listen to the mortal news. Obviously, even the mortals noticed that this snow storm was immensely strong and strange. It covered the area around Pikes Peak pretty clearly and Piper again wondered which immortal was messing with them again. Khione? Aeolus? Boreas? Zeus himself? No, that wasn't really logical, was it? After an hour of just sitting next to Jason and leaning on his chest while watching the news or just stare at the fire, Piper got a little bored. Leo was sitting in front of the fire, playing with the flames and looked at Yuki from time to time as if trying to impress her. The daughter of Khione just ignored him though and kept reading in the book she had found upstairs. Grover was sitting on a canapé next to Annabeth and he had made a giant cage out of whines and roots for the little ferrets, where they had food and something to drink so they wouldn't run around the house aimlessly any more. The cage was next to the little table in the middle, where Annabeth had now sorted out her belongings, staring at them as if calculating how long they would or could make it with just this. Finally, Jason raised his voice and Piper noticed how he looked a little uncertain, which confused her. Jason seldom looked this unsure about something. He looked at Annabeth.

"Annabeth, I was wondering…since we have nothing to do right now and are kinda trapped here…if you could tell us a little more about your boyfriend, Percy Jackson. I figured since we were going to meet him pretty soon, maybe we should know a few things. I'm also curious about what made him so worshipped around Camp." oh. Now she understood why he had been so uncertain to ask. Annabeth stopped in the middle of her movement and bit her lip. She held still until she finally dropped back in her seat, sighing. Her expression had darkened but she finally smiled, even if it wasn't really convincing.

"Alright, I guess you deserve to know. Grover." She nudged the satyr next to him, who had been examining his reed pipe and now looked up, confused.

"We're going to tell the new kids about Percy Jackson's great adventures." A grin spread on her face and she spoke with a certain irony as everybody turned to listen to her…

* * *

_So yeah, lame chapter ending, I know xD. But I wanted to ask you guys: Do you want me to write out what she says or summarize it a little bit? She's not going into details anyway but I just wondered what you would think ^^. Just tell me pls. :3 And btw, Lumi is a cute name, isn't it? I liked it XD_

**Pleease tell me what you think, mostly about my questions and of course about the chapter! Next up is Roman :3**


	61. Transportation? None

_February, 19th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Uff, done. x_x I admit, this chapter was kinda rough to write, I don't know why, maybe because I rushed myself too much and that game keeps getting in the way. Why can something like a game be so addicting? It's freaking me out. Anyway! Don't know if you noticed yet but I began to have a certain rythm for the chapters. There's always one for every perspective on the weekend and in whole, always two of a kind in a row. So now there are two Roman chapters, after that two Greeks etc._

_I'm thinking about next weekend and the Greeks...some of you said I should write out their reactions. Here's a suggestion: I'll write it all out, a little detailed too and put it all in one chapter. Then I'll upload it as a chapter here and instead of the usual option, that this one would be the only Greek chapter for the weekend, you get ANOTHER one next weekend because the one chapter only contained the adventures you already know. How's that? That way, you could just jump that chapter if you don't want to read it :)_

_Other than that, here are the Romans again. I don't know if you find Reyna's reasoning as reasonable as I do (so not at all xD) but I hope you can understand her a little...she's technically a half-sister of Clarisse, don't expect her to be all big and act logical XD._

_Btw: Happy Birthday, Padfoot! Hope you had a great day 8D  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXI**

**Percy**

You know, this whole department thing was kinda exaggerated in Percy's opinion. They had their "last meal" in the white house at noon, then got proper mortal wear for their mission from the cloth room, money, food and all the other stuff you needed from their tentmates –or in Percy's sake, Dakota's tentmates- which was all completely normal.

But then there was this whole ceremony. After the prophecy, there hadn't been much of a discussion any more. Even though the complaint and disagreement was written all over her face, Reyna had to agree to taking Percy with her. She was going herself, along with the whole first legion, which they concluded due to the "with strongest force" thing. The first legion was considered the ultimate quest team along the Romans. They were trained best, they fought best, formed the best team and were each the strongest in their entire tent. That all sounded pretty cool and all but Percy had his doubts.

"Is it really okay to send so many?" he asked, frowning. Lupa stood next to him as they watched the department ceremony being prepared. The she-wolf nodded.

"I know you're used to something different but we Romans fight with numbers. Our armies were well organized and unbeatable if we stood together closely. The first legion is still my smallest team, that I admit. But they are all leaders. In the army, they are something like the centurios of Rome. It's really rare that I have to send them out all at once. I'll be at a great disadvantage when we're attacked again." She looked up to him and her stare was again really intense.

"You better take care of them, after the last war, I can't afford to lose any more of my good soldiers. Not after Jason, you hear." She talked as if this was his quest all over and his responsibility. Why? Reyna had made it clear she was the leader, right? With these words though, the she-wolf walked away and Percy had to take his position in line. Another thing he decided to hate about this camp: Standing in line. Still. For sometimes half an hour or more –it felt like more at least. Yep, he hated it. His body couldn't stand still that long. He was pretty sure that he had to have ADHD or something, but wasn't sure if the other kids and teenagers also had that because they didn't seem to bother.

Anyway. The six quest members were lined up in front of Lupa and all the others who were standing behind her. They had their backpacks ready and looked like a normal squad of teenagers from the street. All of them were wearing the purple shirt but they had all something to combine it with, a jacket or a sweater, so it wouldn't look as much as if they were a strange group in partner look. Looked from the outside, it must have looked like a team of normal teens standing in front of a group of wolves and a whole army of Roman soldiers. They were divided in tents and as the normal campers were wearing their full armor, the remaining tent leaders were wearing their toga and stood there with a banner bearer next to them. Percy had to admit, that looked pretty impressive.

Lupa said a few meaningful words Percy wouldn't like to repeat because honestly: He wasn't listening. The son of Poseidon was too busy looking left and right carefully –not moving his head so nobody noticed- studying the faces of the ones he would head out with. They had Dakota, the charm spreader. She was wearing regular jeans and boots, nothing fancy but the way she put it together with her warm pink snowboarding jacket and the curly ponytail, it still looked like a serious fashion statement. Then there was Gwen, the healer, archer and Oracle. Lupa said the oracle thing wouldn't work when she was out of camp. She still looked a little pale under the cap she was wearing and she was fingering the end of her green jacket subconsciously, meeting Percy's gaze. After she had sprouted that prophecy, she had collapsed and they weren't able to wake her up so long that he had begun to seriously worry about her. Lupa said that it was the first time since the last great prophecy arrived that the Oracle had visited a daughter/son of Apollo instead of vice versa and that it was dangerous for the respective child. Percy hoped she was alright.

Continuing further to his right, there was Reyna, proud and steady, leader by heart and fierce fighter. She shot Percy some looks from time to time and he hoped that their arguments wouldn't get in the way of the quest. Was he kidding himself? Of course they would. The brunette wore her usual ponytail and had added some earwarmers, a purple camp jacket with the emblem of SPQR on its upper arm and also regular jeans, which did look a little torn already. Next up, they had Hazel, master mind and bearer of so much mythological stuff that Percy wondered how her brain could take it all. Whatever they ran into, she would know about it. Well, that was a good thing, if there wasn't the small fact that Hazel seemed even angrier than Reyna, she just had a different way of showing it that made Percy more scared of her than of the daughter of Mars. Her gazes were intimidating, as if she had a strategy in mind that could take him down for sure, with nobody noticing that it was her who did it. Percy shuddered and went on to Bobby. Son of Mercury –Hermes, was it?- and good with a sword. He was also far better build than Percy, sure could take on a wrestling contest with some monster. Wearing a blue jacket together with the camp shirt looked kind of lame but Percy guessed nobody dared to point that out to him.

Finally, there was Percy himself. The son of Poseidon and the dimwitted Greek idiot. At least that was what the whole camp was thinking. At least his clothing was decent. Why would it not, Dakota had picked it out of course. That girl seemed to be his permanent company around everything here since he got from prison. He didn't know how to think about that exactly. Of course company was great but he was afraid Dakota wanted more than that and that he himself wasn't really thinking that way. That was not important right now though. So, he was wearing the regular camp shirt, a black winter jacket over that, blue, loose jeans, comfortable to move in with enough room to store 10 more weapon pens if needed. His backpack was black with turquoise accents and it was magically enchanted with the same spell the tents possessed so he could fit in much more than the looks of it would let you guess. Percy guessed the others had the same types of rucksacks but he didn't know for sure. Just standing here, he felt pretty much more ready than he had ever been, as much as he knew that was.

Lupa finished her speech and the army slowly made their way back to training, neatly sorted by tents and walking in perfect squares. Reyna received some final departing words from Lupa until the wolf made her way over to Percy. She changed her tongue to Greek again for him and he wondered why. Was this to be a message just for him?

"Percy, remember what I told you about your weak spot and your essence. And you have to interpret the prophecy correctly to find the seal's location. I hate saying this but you are probably the only one who can do it. You'll find out what I mean when you get there. Now good luck and don't you dare mess up." She nodded one last time and then turned away completely, leaving Percy alone with the others at the clearing. They all stared at him as if they wanted a translation but Percy felt there was a reason she was speaking Greek so he decided to shut up about it.

"Soooo…can we go now?" he asked and frowned. Reyna looked at him with eyes like slits and she just nodded, taking the lead. They walked towards the forest and stopped in front of a giant rock that was just on top of the first little hill short before the trees started. Percy had noticed the stone several times during the daily march but never thought of it as important. Reyna on the other hand touched a little sign on the stone. It was a small eagle as the one in the ceiling of the white house. From her touch, it began to glow and a crack was building in the stone that build some kind of door. It cracked open and suddenly, there was a whole tunnel in front of them.

"What the…?" Percy began and looked at Dakota next to her. She just smiled at his confused face.

"That's the official entrance to the Castra Roma. The touch of a demigod is needed to open it and its outer location changes during the hours and days. Only those who know where to find the original is can go through it. Usually, Lupa tells the demigods that arrive at the wolf house where the door is and they have to make their own way here, showing their power to survive." She explained and Percy just nodded. Wow, then he had gone through a seriously easier way, huh? Well, not that he wanted to complain.

They made their way through the tunnel, it was dark and wet so Percy got out his sword for light without thinking about it further. It gave away a small golden glow that could lead them the way forwards and he kept walking closely behind Reyna, which she didn't seem too happy about. When the little group finally reached the end of the tunnel, Percy was stunned to stand in the middle of a car tunnel. Cars were flashing past them in incredible speed and they were only a meter away from them. Astonished, he took a step back, almost knocking the others over, which got him some curse words from Bobby behind him. Reyna however didn't seem to be afraid of the traffic and just walked along the cars, ignoring the strange stares from some drivers. After the tunnel was behind them, Reyna kept walking. They passed a sign that read "Caldecott tunnel" and pointed in the direction of the tunnel they just came from. Percy wondered why the entrance was placed there, it made no sense to him. Also, the signs told him that they were in San Francisco and a feeling in his gut told him he wasn't supposed to be here, that this was dangerous territory. Then again, didn't the Roman say New York was dangerous and he had the feeling he had spend _much_ time there? This was all so freaking confusing!

All of them were quiet. Percy didn't know why but they all seemed to be kind of down or just tense. Maybe because Lupa foretold that if their quest failed, the Camp and probably the whole civilization as they knew it would be doomed. Yeah, that could put some pressure on your shoulders. Luckily, Percy wasn't so affected by this. Maybe he had experienced it before so he was used to it. Well, he was the first one to speak anyway after they had walked for what felt like at least two kilometers.

"Er, Reyna? Where are we going exactly?" he asked carefully, catching up with her since she was putting up an amazing marching speed they all had to keep up with. Gwen already looked paler than before and Percy had hoped to know what transportation Reyna had planned so he could reassure her.

"East." Reyna just pressed through her teeth and kept marching, now even faster. However, the son of Poseidon was able to keep track with her and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know that. I mean, what transportation did you plan? Train, Airplane –oh btw, that'll be impossible for me- or car or-"

"Transportation? None." She finally said, almost laughing ironically. Now Percy was really puzzled. His face must've looked ridiculous but Reyna ignored his expression completely.

"WHAT? You're planning to go there _on foot_? You are aware that "east" might mean New York, right? I'm not crossing the entire _states_ on foot!" he gazed back to the others, who had been following their conversation. Gwen seemed absent but Dakota just shook her head with a warning expression on her face. What was that about? She couldn't seriously want to do what Reyna suggested here, right? But he soon realized what the warning was about. Reyna stood still abruptly and gave him a stare that could have killed him for sure if looks could do that.

"YOU are going to do what I tell you and that is at the moment, that we're going east on our very own feet. We can't take a plane or train because we have NO idea where our destination is exactly and I'm not going to New York if I don't absolutely have to and I'm ALSO not spending money on train or plane tickets that are useless! _I_ have done quests before, Jackson and every time, everything turned out like the prophecy said, it doesn't matter what you begin with or what you plan, it'll go the way it's supposed to be anyway. And now come on, I want to get to the protected forests east of San Francisco today at least." And with that and her face far too close to his, she turned around and walked onward. Percy had withstood her stare as well as he could although her very words had seemed to have a strange power that made him angry as well, wanting him to attack her. He could barely suppress the urge while listening to her. The others followed behind the daughter of Mars without another word, even Hazel was quiet for now. Although he wanted to protest very hard against what Reyna said, he didn't find an argument against it. So he just cursed some pretty harsh words in Greek –which seemed to be unaffected from his memory loss by the way- and went on together with the others.

When passing a town named Jackson –that one made him laughing inside a bit-, he felt like he could just drop over from exhaustion. If his inner counter was right, they had run at least 60 kilometres. His counter might be exaggerating though. Suddenly, Gwen beside him stumbled and Percy managed to catch her just in time. She thanked him and Percy now looked up again. They had walked through so many fields that the son of Poseidon had lost count. What was that part about averting the ground? Didn't really work out, did it? He turned his head after Gwen slowly got up and glanced at Reyna.

"Hey, Reyna." His tone was now not aggressive but mild, almost polite. This wasn't like him but he was so freaking tired. "Can't we take a rest here? We almost reached the forest, maybe it's safer to take camp here instead of the woods." Even though he hadn't expected it, Reyna agreed. So they set up camp, getting out their sleeping backs and starting a small fire to warm their meal and bones. The sun was almost setting, Percy hadn't noticed how time had passed so quickly. Reyna divided their watches and Percy got some rest. Now that they were out of the Castra, dreams found him again. He wasn't sure yet if that was a good or a bad thing…

* * *

_Dudun. What dreams will he have? What's up with Gwen? What does Lupa mean? Argh, so-many-questions...At least I hope so because that's what I intended...hehe XD. Btw, there's really a town/village named Jackson near San Francisco. I laughed so hard when I discovered it on Google maps. _

_What I wanted to say for a long time: I've never been to America. So if something is wrong about a region or description or behavior, please tell me about it, I'll fix it then xP All my knowledge is from Wikipedia, Google Maps and talking to Americans XDD_

**Pleeeease tell me what you think :3**


	62. Into sudden Darkness

_February, 24th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_OMG guys. I think you're going to like this chapter :D Nothing more to say, I'm still fine, observed by drawing the whole time but otherwise free to write. Already started the chapter where Annabeth tells the others about Percy and it's really fun to write, look forward to it :D But for now, you're going to love this one, especially those who waited for Percabeth so long. And no, I didn't put this in because you begged. It's part of my plan and it's not really a reunion...in fact, it makes things even more dramatic, you'll see *muhahaha*  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXII**

**Percy**

_His dreams started in a strange way. The son of Poseidon was standing in the middle of nothing, all around him was pure white, blinding him. His green eyes checked his surroundings for something that was not white or a reason he ended up in a place like this. After he blinked several times, there was suddenly a girl standing in front of him, just two meters away. When he saw her, his green eyes went wide. _

_It was Annabeth. In flesh, right here in front of him, the only person whose name he remembered. She had her back to him but looked around, checking her surroundings more serious than he did, as if she wasn't as surprised to be in a strange location like this._

"_Oh, not this again.." she whispered but Percy was still able to hear her. Without thinking further, he voiced the question that popped into his head. _

"_What again?" he asked, tilting his head. The blonde jumped, completely startled by his voice. She turned into his direction and her marvelous grey eyes widened to an amount Percy hadn't thought possible. _

"_Percy…" she breathed. Her tone stunned him. First, her expression had been hopeful, her voice was so full of longing. Then, suddenly, sadness drowned in her facial features and she looked so sad and full of grief that Percy was afraid she would start to cry. She turned away from him quickly, balling her fists and talking to herself. _

"_No, don't get all caught up, this is a dream…some divine being is messing with you, he isn't real…" she took a shaky breath and turned her head to find that Percy was still there, eyebrows raised in question. She tried to hold back tears, the teenager just knew that. And he also knew that this wasn't like her at all. He took a step forward. _

"_Hey, look…" he stopped, not certain what to say. He also thought this was a dream but this one was so different…she seemed to be here in this strange place with him, this wasn't like any of the scenes he had seen in his other dreams._

"_You're Annabeth, right?" she indeed turned to him but when he had to ask her name, her sadness seemed to deepen, it was as if Percy could see something inside of her shattering but she just balled her hands into fists again and pressed her lips together to control herself. Somehow, he could still see what she felt, as if he knew her just too well. The son of Poseidon decided to continue talking, maybe he could think of something reassuring. _

"_I- I don't know why we are both here but...er, yeah, I guess it's kind of a dream…at least I know that I'm sleeping right now…what about you?" he could have facepalmed right then and there. That all sounded so stupid. Having her here, he had so very many questions, like 'who are you to me?' 'where am I from?', 'what happened?' and so on but the only one that he voiced out is 'are you sleeping as well right now?'? Who the Hades cared about that? Despite of how stupid that sounded, Annabeth managed a smile and shook her head as if she couldn't believe it. _

"_It is you, seaweed brain. Only you could ask something that stupid. Of course I'm sleeping, I just said this is a dream, dummy." She almost laughed, which was a great sight to see. She looked like in that dream Percy had of her and him at the beach and even the rings under her eyes seemed to vanish over the realization that he was really here, not just something she imagined. Her gaze was clearer now and she took a step towards him. Her grey eyes told him she was holding back, not doing what he wanted to do the most. What was it? Hug him? Why didn't she then? What was the reason? He didn't understand any of this at all! But Annabeth studied his face and his clothes, stopping at his purple shirt for a short second and at his jeans pockets, as if she knew that Riptide was resting there. Percy could tell her thoughts were racing but she didn't show it and finally looked up again, seemingly also a little confused._

"_What is this all about? I didn't think I would be able to see you until…" she interrupted herself as if she realized something, as if she just remembered that he didn't know everything, didn't remember and as if he wasn't supposed to know it all, not now…_

"_Until what? What happened to me? Where are you? Can't I meet you, I have so many questions…" he said and now also took a step forward. There was now only half a meter between them and he wanted to lift his hand and touch her cheek so badly even though he didn't know why, wasn't certain what she was to him when he…left –wherever he left from- and if he was right about his feelings, if she felt the same way. Annabeth herself had a pained expression on her face again. She sighed and twirled around a grey streak in her honey blonde hair that was matching his own exactly. _

"_Percy, I…Trust me, I miss you so much, but…" she paused and took a deep breath, as if preparing herself for the next sentence. This talk was draining on her, Percy could tell. She hadn't been prepared for this, not in this way. Why, though? What did he do wrong? Annabeth finally continued. _

"_But you have to wait for me. We will meet soon, I promise. Then I'll be able to explain everything to you. Just don't let the Romans get to your head, promise me that. And stay where you are, we are coming your way. Jason said…no, that's not important to you right now. I just want…" she took another step forward and stretched out her hand as if to touch his hair or face. Percy didn't understand a word she said but when she reached out her hand now, she was slamming into some kind of invisible wall and he had a strange feeling that pulled on his gut and dragged him backwards. Looking down, he noticed how he began fading, turning more transparent. Annabeth pulled back quickly but looked even sadder than before, grabbing her own arm for support._

"_What the…"_

"_The dream is dissolving, whoever maintained the connection can't hold it any longer. I'm so sorry that it's already over, Percy but it's all supposed to be like this, even if you may not understand it. Hera's plan was dangerous but necessary, even if I hate her even more for what she did to you and Jason." She glared at a spot behind Percy while talking about the goddess. While still dissolving, Percy shook his hands through the air. _

"_Wait, wait! This can't be over yet, I still have questions. And I can't exactly stay in the Castra, we're on a quest! What is that plan of Hera's? And you know Jason? Where is he? The whole camp is out of their minds with worry for him!" he spoke rapidly so Annabeth could still hear him even though the dream seemed to dissolve. Her eyes went wide and she seemed completely shaken. _

"_What, you're on a quest? They're sending _you_ on a quest? Where to? T-they trust you to- where are-?"_

* * *

But that was the moment where Percy was being shaken awake by Hazel.

Seriously, he was normally not violent towards other people (unless it was training or they were monsters) but right now, he felt like strangling that daughter of Minerva for shaking him awake. He had no idea how that was even possible and it was probably just his own imagination but he had actually talked to Annabeth. Who had made that possible? Was it actually real? He had no idea really, but he found his hands shaking and his head aching while he looked up at the stars. The sun still wasn't up but that was no wonder, it was Percy's turn to take watch, not their time to break camp. So he sat up and walked over to a nearby tree to sit down and have his back leaned onto something without speaking another word with Hazel, afraid to snap at her.

When the brunette finally went to sleep, Percy was all alone. His green eyes wandered the horizon. In front of him, there were only fields spread out until he could no longer see. Most of them were cut down and abandoned, some had grown grass on it, like the one they were camping on. Behind him was the dark and thick forest and most of the floor there was untouched and difficult to wander around since this was a protected forest and handled with care –well, relatively. There were still lying some cans and other luggage around but it wasn't that bad. All around the floor, there was a light mist creeping around because of the cold and looking back into the forest with the mist in it where he could barely see, Percy received a shiver down his spine and quickly turned around again. He didn't want to imagine what monsters could wait for them in there and he wondered how Reyna had the nerves to go all the way by foot.

As he was watching his companions sleep, his thoughts wandered to Annabeth again. Fingering his grey streak, he wondered where they had both got it. Besides, what was this plan of Hera about and how was he involved? Why did she have to take his memories for that? That didn't seem really necessary to him. Plus, due to that action, his head was hurting like hell right now. He could drop over but he just grabbed onto it and groaned, trying to make it go away by drinking some water from his backpack. It didn't help. Seeing that specific daughter of Athena and hearing her voice, seeing her pain was making so much of his memory wanting to come back all at once that his head couldn't take it. He could tell it was still not all of his memory but a small part that involved mainly Annabeth but it was already enough. When Gwen took over the watch, his face was completely white and he felt a little sweaty on the forehead. Gwen saw that, even though the campfire almost dimmed down completely and asked if he was okay.

"Fine." He just lied and quickly lay down in his sleeping back again to get some more rest. At least that was what he planned. His thoughts still wouldn't calm down until short before Reyna woke them all up. That didn't exactly help his mood since the headache might have dimmed down a little but he still didn't get much sleep.

"Morning. You alright?" Dakota asked when they packed their stuff and made their way ahead through the trees. Percy shook his head.

"Had a freaky dream last night." He said simply and tried to avoid her gaze. It was strange, seeing Dakota looking at him like that, all concerned and remembering Annabeth's gaze that was just as much, if not even much more concerned, full of worry and longing. Somehow, he wondered how long it had been since they last saw each other for real and how long she had been looking for him. She had looked really worn out and that made Percy himself worry. But Dakota walking beside him interrupted his thoughts.

"What about?" she asked further and frowned. They were crossing a creek by now and the noise as well as the water rushing over his feet made him feel a little better. The son of Poseidon had feared Dakota would ask that though. Then again, maybe he should tell her. She deserved to know.

"It was-"

"HA! Gotcha." Percy was interrupted by Bobby, who grinned broadly and presented a pen that he held up in his hands. He was walking backwards, facing Percy while marching in the other direction. The teenager eyed the pen and his eyes widened, his hands flew to his pockets. Not there.

"Hey, that's mine! How'd you get that out of my jeans?" he asked but somehow, his head already knew the answer before Hazel gave it. She looked bored but slightly amused by Bobby's actions.

"His father is the god of thieves. He manages to pickpocket all of us at some point. Get used to it." She said with her hands in her own pockets. Bobby just grinned while Reyna completely ignored them, still taking the lead.

"I guess you won't be beating me now, fish face. Without your precious little Greek sword." He swayed the lethal ballpoint pen in front of him and Percy felt his anger rise. Normally, he wouldn't react to the insults but it weren't Bobby's words that got him angry. It was the fact that his sword was one of the things he still had from his past life and one of the things that were of his original belonging, something he was sure of. While stopping to walk, he clenched his fists and felt a wave roaring in his ears without really controlling it, felt the creed behind him rise and saw Bobby's blue eyes widen.

"Give-it-back…" He demanded and felt the wave moving, when suddenly, Dakota next to him screamed. She had also stopped walking for a second and had stood slightly before him. Percy hadn't paid attention to her because he was staring at Bobby but her scream got him back to reality, letting the wave drop back to the creek. Stunned, he turned to see what happened, just to find her gone. Vanished, not there. He blinked and looked around him more eagerly, completely forgetting about Bobby and the pen.

"Dakota? Where-" but the next second, another scream could be heard farther away because while walking, Hazel had suddenly vanished as well. He wanted to run to the spot when out of nothing, he too was swallowed by darkness…

* * *

_Dudun. Now, who send that dream? What was it for? What does that giant headache achieve? Where did Dakota go and all the others... O_O Yeah, NOW comes the real action I'd say 8D This is going to be so much fun..._

**Please tell me what to think, there's plenty to write about this chapter ;P**


	63. Storytelling

_February, 26th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Guys, this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Seriously, 5000 words? I think/hope I'm not ever going to top that. I promise, I didn't write out everything I could have and I tried to keep it short but summing up five awesome books is just difficult to do when you want to mention so much stuff T_T_

_So here is Jason telling you what he got out of Percy's adventures. He will probably think about it further later but I'm not about to add more words to this chapter, that's already enough. Next chapter will come this weekend too, I'll upload it either tomorrow or Tuesday, depends how fast I am with finishing it ^^. Prepare, there's going to be Annabeth's reaction to the last dream...:O But for now, focus on this chapter :D  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXIII**

**Jason**

He was almost exploding from tension after he asked that question. But it had just come to his mind when they were sitting around here and Jason watched Annabeth breed over their remaining supplies. Somehow, he wondered how her and Percy got together. Or more important: How that Percy guy got so famous and worshipped in Camp Half-Blood. They spoke about him like some kind of precious relic or something.

Finally though, Annabeth took a deep breath, agreeing to his suggestion, which made him let out his own breath he didn't realize holding. From her jeans pocket, the daughter of Athena fished a little piece of paper, unfolding it on the living room table so everybody could see it. It showed Annabeth herself next to a slightly taller guy with messy jet-black hair and eyes of a startling sea green that were looking directly at the camera. He had his arms around Annabeth's shoulders and a goofy grin on his face. His skin was tanned but not as much as his girlfriends. He was well built, showing that even though he looked casual in that picture, Jason's skilled eye could tell that he could get dangerous if he wanted to be. Also, he was wearing a necklace with four beads and a crystal on it. Jason had learned at Camp that one bead meant one camp-year (or summer), just like the stripes on his forearm. Annabeth had ten beads, making her the one with the most Jason had seen yet. The son of Jupiter wanted to ask what that crystal was standing for, when Piper suddenly interrupted the silence.

"That picture is on the wall in Chiron's office, right?" Annabeth nodded as a response.

"Yeah, he keeps his favorite and most famous students there. But anyway. This is how he looked last summer, right after the war. The Camp just gave him the Crystal bead that symbolized he was officially leading them all. That was the only council voting I ever witnessed that had no objections." Annabeth mused but shook her head to dismiss the thought. It explained Jason's silent question about the crystal though.

"Anyway. I'll start at the beginning. Perseus Jackson grew up in New York. His mother Sally, whom you have already seen, is a really smart mortal as well as clear sighted. She was able to protect Percy by marrying a smelly mortal so he could cover up Percy's demigod scent, which was apparently really strong for his young age."

"Oh yeah, pretty much. Even back then he was hard to miss. And he got much stronger with the years. Right now, a monster can probably track him across the whole country, with the curse and all." Grover commented in and Jason raised an eyebrow but didn't ask. Annabeth just continued.

"Yep. Well, at the age of twelve, Grover here found him and since he was strong, Chiron himself went to his school to check the case out. It was good he did that because Percy was soon attacked by Alecto the Fury, the first monster he defeated. Grover and his mother barely got him to camp in time for another monster, the Minotaur to chase him down. His mother was captured –by that time Percy thought she was dead- and he took the monster down without a weapon and training, freeing the path for him and Grover to reach the camp boarders." Jason raised an eyebrow, impressed. What the Hades, two monsters that strong before reaching camp? At the age of twelve? Well that was impressive. The others looked just as stunned but nobody dared to interrupt Annabeth yet.

"At camp, we tried to figure out what godly parent he had. I had wanted to believe he was a child of Zeus, since we already suspected him to be strong. Then, at capture the flag, he got claimed after he defeated Clarisse, broke her spear and was attacked by a summoned hellhound. Piper, you know how impressive claiming can get when the whole camp is there. And seeing as he was a possible child of the prophecy as well-"

"Prophecy? You mean the one for the Titan war?" Piper asked. Jason realized they didn't even know the prophecy yet, even though the camp waited a long time for it to be fulfilled. So Annabeth nodded and told them that the prophecy was about the next child of the big three that turned sixteen, and that this was why there shouldn't have been any children of the elder gods anymore. Until Thalia appeared, that was in fact true. Jason already knew about Thalia running away because of him and Annabeth now told them quickly, how she ran into Luke and then Annabeth and how they had been on the run for two years before Grover found them. She didn't seem anxious to talk about it though. After all, Thalia was now missing and Jason was already told that Luke was dead now. He wondered what happened to him but again, nobody asked, as Annabeth's expression made it clear she wouldn't tolerate that. She then continued with Percy's story.

"Well, on the Solstice the winter before Percy got to camp, Zeus master bold got stolen." Jason gasped and the others obviously already concluded what his father would do if something like that happened…he would accuse the next likely demigod. Annabeth smiled, obviously amused.

"Yeah, you're all right, he blamed Percy, of course. We all knew he had nothing to do with it but still, Zeus would obviously not believe him. And Percy was also determined to get his mother back as soon as he learned the underworld existed. So we got ourselves a quest from Chiron to go there, since Chiron believed Hades may have the bold in his possession. As a conclusion, Percy, Grover and I took off to the Underworld." There was a short silence there.

"Seriously? Two twelve year olds and a Faun? Couldn't you have sent someone more...you know, experienced?" Jason asked with a raised eyebrow but Annabeth just shrugged as if that was no big deal. Man, he would never get used to this world, where stuff like that was completely normal. No wonder Thalia had been so calm when she met him. It was probably really no big deal. Annabeth quickly continued.

"We hiked a bus to the west, when we were immediately spotted by all three furies. We barely made it out and lost our backpacks."_ That's why she's so calm right now, _Jason thought. She already had to go on without any possessions. Then again, they did too…

"We stumble through the forest and right into another trap. We didn't realize it but we were lulled in by Medusa herself. She had us in position for taking a 'picture' already, when I finally noticed who she was." Grover bleated.

"Yeah, finally is the right word. I told you to run for half an hour but nobody listens to the Satyr of course." He crossed his arms and huffed. Piper beside him looked concerned. No wonder, Medusa was one of the worst monsters Jason could think of. Not being able to look somebody in the eye must stink. He thought back to how they fought the Basilisk, with the only difference that he wasn't twelve and that the stare would only paralyze, not kill him. Man, that Percy guy had rotten luck.

"How'd you guys get out?" Piper asked. Again, Annabeth just shrugged, but this time, grinned proudly.

"Percy killed her. Chopped off her head and sent it to Olympus, blunt as he is.", Annabeth explained. Jason blinked but nobody said anything, first because they were just as impressed and second because Annabeth continued, smiling at their faces.

"I have to say, when you talk about it, it does sound more impressive than it actually was…same goes for the rest of the journey…" and she went on about how they got themselves a ride west, how Percy fell down the arch in , how they met Ares and how he gave them backpacks and a not so great ride west. That they ended up in the Lotus Casino and Hotel for a few days even though it seemed like hours and how they finally made it to Los Angeles and therefore the Underworld. It never got boring to listen and none of them changed position or wanted to get up because it was really a gripping story. Jason thought about their quest and had to admit that looking over their monsters and over Percy's –and he had only been 12 back then-, their quest suddenly sounded less bad.

"In the Underworld, we discovered we'd been set up. Luke's shoes were cursed so Percy would end up in Tartarus and the lightning bold, which was really in the backpack from Ares, was supposed to be with Kronos. He had planned all of this, not Hades. With the help of the pearls Poseidon had sent us, we went back to regular ground, where Ares was already waiting. Outraged as he was, Percy challenged him and managed to hurt his heel. Ares fled and we gave the furies Hades' helm back, which had also been stolen. Then we took a plane back to Olympus and Percy gave the lightning bold back. He had to leave his mother in the Underworld but he made the right choice since Hades returned her home. His mother received Medusas head and petrified Percy's stepfather with it." She summed it up. Then her face became dark and he gaze rested no longer on them but on the table.

"The prophecy for the quest had told Percy that a friend would betray him. He didn't tell us about it though. Luke got him to walk into the forest with him. There, he summoned a scorpion and confessed to Percy that in fact, he was the one who stole the lightning bold and the helm of darkness. He's the son of Hermes, it was surprisingly easy for him to do it. Then he disappeared, the scorpion hit Percy on the hand and he barely made it back to camp…" Annabeth was pale at this memory. Either because she remembered Percy's condition or because of Luke's betrayal. Or maybe even both. Jason frowned. He looked over to Piper and Leo and then at Yuki, Annabeth and Grover. It was hard, imagining someone you thought you knew so well would turn their back on you. Then again, their prophecy said so too…it killed him inside to think he had to consider this. It had to be so devastating for Annabeth to discover Luke's actions. After all, they had been close friends. The daughter of Athena took a deep breath and continued.

"That was it about the first year. The second one wasn't really pleasant either. Especially not for Grover." Annabeth grinned at the Satyr, who huffed and shuddered at the thought. They told them about how Grover stumbled over Polyphemus on his search for Pan and how he coincidently found the golden fleece. How Luke had poisoned Thalia's tree. Jason couldn't believe that part. How could he do that when he knew that it was once or still is Thalia, a good friend of his?

The daughter of Athena told them how Percy and Annabeth fled from camp together with Tyson the Cyclopes because Tantalus wouldn't give them a proper quest. How they met Luke on his monster cruise ship, how they ran into the Hydra and escaped with Clarisse on the C.S.S. Birmingham. She told them how the ship exploded, leaving her and Percy believe they were the only survivors. That they passed a few islands –she was strangely short with these- and finally reached their destination, fought men-eating sheep and Polyphemus, got their ship trashed, Annabeth got hurt but they finally got away with the fleece.

"Wow, quite the troubling summer." Piper summed it up and everybody else nodded. Annabeth laughed drily though.

"Oh, that's not it. Luke wanted to get the fleece for himself after all. He had us cornered and we were lucky that Percy is so freaking loyal because he let Clarisse take the fleece to camp alone, otherwise Luke would have stolen it from us to heal his master. We still got almost killed again, Chiron and the Party Ponies rescued us from the ship. That was also the time we freed Blackjack, you know, Percy's black Pegasus." Piper nodded, thinking about it.

"Oh, the one Lacy showed me the other day, who wouldn't let anybody ride it. Yeah, it is a quite beautiful one." Annabeth smiled as a response.

"Yeah, Blackjack is quite fond of Percy and as far as I can tell –and I don't speak horse like Percy does-, he misses him just as much as we all do." She paused and looked sadder for a moment before she caught herself again.

"Anyway. We got back to camp and place the fleece at the tree so it could heal. It worked just fine, until something went wrong…" she paused, deep in thought and Grover finished the sentence for her.

"The magic worked too well. Because at night, Thalia suddenly appeared at the foot of the tree as if she had never been gone. Just like that." He made a pop-motion with his hand and Annabeth nodded in agreement. Mystified, Jason tilted his head.

"But why is that wrong? Weren't you happy she was back? After all you thought she was dead at that point!" he protested. Thinking his sister was dead…yeah, he knew the feeling, 'cause it was the same right now. Annabeth however shook her head.

"Not the fact that she was back was bad. It was the fact that Kronos had wanted it all along. Thalia is a daughter of Zeus and she was even older than Percy. She could have been the child of the prophecy, another factor to manipulate. It was devastating to see how we had played into his hands the whole time." She shuddered and the son of Jupiter understood. It would have been depressing, knowing that whatever you did, you would just serve the enemy without knowing it. It was probably the same with them right now but he tried not to think about it. Annabeth took a deep breath so she was able to continue.

"It was difficult in the beginning, accepting that she was back and trying to get her to work with Percy. The two didn't get along very well. Both of them are impulsive and both of them are natural leaders. Both are strong. They produced quite the damage when they had their first fight…" Jason had to laugh a little at that statement. When he realized he had done if aloud, he faltered at the looks he got.

"Sorry, it's just that…when I first met Thalia, she was looking for Percy and out of worry for him. I wondered what changed their relationship from I'm-going-to-fry-you to best-buddy-cousins." This made Annabeth smile as well.

"Yeah, that would have happened in the winter that followed. We had followed a hunch of Grover, who discovered two strong half-bloods at a military school. Thalia, Percy and me were assigned as an extraction squad to guide them to camp. Unfortunately, that didn't quite go as planned. A Manticore was at that school and it managed to separate us from the siblings. Percy managed to go with them but since he was alone and still had to protect them, he had to wait for us. When we arrived, we were all nearly killed. Actually, we just made it because the hunters of Artemis showed up and saved us from the monster. But I got howled off a cliff with the Manticore and he delivered me to Luke, who forced me to hold up the sky. That's where I received the grey streak." She pointed at the streak in her hair and raised an eyebrow. "I always wondered how nobody mentioned it yet. A random grey streak in my hair, that's not exactly normal…" she looked at them, waiting for an answer. Finally, Piper spoke.

"I-I thought that was because of the stress…" she blushed and Annabeth stared at her, but didn't comment any further. She just shook her head and pointed at Grover.

"Well anyway. Since I was captured, Grover here will continue. I wasn't with the others in this." Grover just nodded, even if he didn't seem pleased to be in turn of storytelling.

"Yeah, you see…I have this empathy link with Percy ever since the summer with the golden fleece. That makes me feel even better how Percy feels at the time. And lemme tell you, it wasn't a pleasure that winter. He was completely devastated when Annabeth was gone and thought it was entirely his fault. Thalia blamed him too though and the two of them got into a really heavy fight at capture the flag. They would have probably killed each other if the Oracle hadn't walked in and stunned them all completely. See, Lady Artemis got captured by Kronos when she went after that monster they were all so afraid off. So the prophecy was meant for Zoe Nightshade, the lieutenant of Artemis. She didn't want Percy along because he was a boy but after a series of incidents including Annabeth's cap and a certain Pegasus, Percy somehow got himself into it. We ran into each other at a museum, where we met the Nemean Lion. Somehow, we managed to defeat it and Percy got its pelt because he delivered the final blow and the overall idea of how to defeat him." Jason raised an eyebrow and shook his head. This guy really got himself into everything…Piper laughed a little at this.

"I'm just noticing. Percy did an awful lot of stuff Hercules did, didn't he?" she looked at Annabeth and the daughter of Athena just smiled mysteriously.

"Oh just you wait, it's even getting better." She motioned for Grover to continue and so he told them about their journey west, about Fred alias Apollo, Bianca di Angelo and her reasons for leaving her little brother Nico. How she died at the junkyard of the gods and how Percy blamed himself for that as well and still did. He described their flee from the skeleton warriors and how they fled with giant bronze statues when they met them at the Hoover Dam. They listened to him talking about San Francisco and what they experienced on top of Mount Ortrys. Suddenly, Jason could understand why Annabeth was so freaked out about the Bay Area. Not only her but the other Greeks too. It wasn't just the Roman camp being there and the mist bending so they wouldn't want to go there but also that mountain, where Atlas was still holding up the sky so Ouranus and Gaea wouldn't meet. Flashes of his past life got back to him and he saw himself standing there, seeing the giant bent under the weight and a gigantic black palace looming in front of him. But the picture disappeared just as quickly and he got back to Grover talking about how Percy held up the weight of the sky so Artemis could fight Atlas. Zoe Nightshade was severely hurt and died right after the battle. This winter was said to be the one where Thalia almost became the child of the prophecy, where she joined the hunters, two great hunters died and Artemis called Percy a man. They had found out Bianca and Nico were children of Hades, given two more ways for the prophecy to happen and Nico had turned his back on the camp because Percy had let his sister die.

"Pretty eventful winter." Leo laughed and his hands build something out of some metal pieces from his tool belt. But he was listening intently, like all of them were. Annabeth smiled sadly.

"Yeah. Well, until next summer, things were pretty quiet. Clarisse went on a secret mission that winter, exploring what would be important next summer: Daedalus Labyrinth. At the beginning of the summer, we discovered an entrance right at camp –Zeus fist- and were afraid Luke would use it to invade. So we made up a small team of four people who would go down there. I was the leader this time and Chiron warned me not to bring four because three was a magic number and I shouldn't risk it. It could mean losing one of them. I brought along Grover, Tyson and of course Percy. The prophecy had warned me I would lose a love in this quest and I had felt horrible at that point, not certain what to think…" she paused and looked out of the window. Her expression was painful but she just bit her lip and continued. Grover looked uncomfortable, thinking about that place but he otherwise kept quiet.

"We made it a few meters but were then already lost. We met many traps and hindrances. One of them was the monster Kampê that held the hundred handed one Briares in prison. We freed him. We ran into the god Janus, who wanted to confuse me but Hera got him to vanish. She was the one who tried to help us on this quest, which we all found quite odd, since she rarely helps demigods. We met up with Nico at the triple G ranch and the host wanted to give us over to Kronos. Luckily, Percy managed to somehow clean the stables of the men eating horses and by that got us freed. Hera told us to visit her son, Hephaestus, so we did. He gave us the quest to look into one of his forges but on our way there, we separated because Grover here felt a sensation that Pan was down one of the tunnels. So I was alone with Percy in that volcano and there were Thelkines everywhere. W-we were totally outnumbered but he told me to run, get back to Hephaestus." Annabeth had to stop there for a short second. Her face had gotten a little red and Jason wondered why. Then again, she also looked shaken by the memory as she continued.

"As soon as I got out, the whole mountain exploded. I still don't know how he did that but he got the whole volcano to explode. It erupted and I ended up thinking he was dead, thinking it was him the prophecy meant…" now Jason knew why she seemed shaken. Piper gasped and shook her head. Wow, he had to admit…that Percy guy was really powerful if he could blast up a whole mountain like that…then again, that must have almost killed him… Annabeth continued but Jason felt as if she was leaving something out. He was curious but also didn't want to ask, feeling that she didn't want to talk about it.

"He didn't return for two weeks. When he got back, we were already about to burn his shroud. But he made it and we were…all happy about that. He also had a suggestion how to navigate in the Labyrinth. We should get a clear-sighted mortal to lead us. So we went to meet his mortal friend he met last winter at the Hoover Dam: Rachel Elizabeth Dare." Piper smiled.

"Oh, so that's how she got into all this mythological stuff although she was a mortal!" she said and shook her head in disbelieve.

"Anyway. We went down into the Labyrinth again and ran directly into Luke's arms. We had to go through an arena and fight our way through but Percy somehow managed to defeat the host and save our asses by calling Mrs. O'Leary, Quintus –our new training director- hellhound pet. Finally, we made it to Daedalus, whom we had been searching for, just to find out that our activities director Quintus was in fact Daedalus who had made himself an artificial body, in fact that was the fifth one. Luke attacked us while we were there so we had to flee but we made it out together with Nico, who had been captured by Luke but managed to get free. He joined us and together we stumbled over something devastating: Luke had hosted Kronos. We discovered them on top of mount Otrys and almost got ourselves killed. It was and I realized the prophecy had meant him. He was lost, possessed by Kronos spirit…" Annabeth stopped and looked down. There didn't need to be said something. It was understandable that that would have been really shaking for anybody. But despite that, Annabeth managed to continue.

" We barely escaped and found Grover and Tyson, just to discover that they had in fact found Lord Pan. Unfortunately, he was about to fade and did so while we were present." She bowed her head and Grover's lip quivered while thinking about this. He whipped his eyes and Jason decided not to mention it. Fauns loved Pan after all. He didn't know the god faded right before their eyes, that must have been really bitter to discover after searching so long…

"When we made our way back to camp, we set up defences. But it all wasn't enough. When Kronos invaded, we were completely outnumbered, even with Daedalus helping our side. You see, we all received the blessing of Pan when he faded. Grover here saved our asses by releasing something named 'panic' which caused all of our enemies to flee. Daedalus decided it was time for him to stop cheating death and Nico guided his soul to the Underworld, making the Labyrinth collapse right over Kronos' sorry head." She finished and leaned back into the sofa. Then she grinned at all of their faces. Leo suddenly laughed.

"Man, I thought my luck was rotten. But I guess that's not even cutting what you guys went through." He said and shook his head while the others nodded in agreement. Annabeth smiled.

"You're right. But it's mainly Percy's luck that's rotten. You guys want to drink something? I'll get some before we get to the final part about the actual final battle." With that, she went up from the couch and when they all got their glasses with ice tea it, settling down for the longest part, Annabeth began to tell them about the final chapter.

Jason didn't remember every little detail although Annabeth described more detailed than she did with the previous summers. No wonder, a war like that was probably burned into your mind with every detail. But the things that struck him were that on the other side of the country, in New York, the Greeks had fought just as fiercely as the Romans had in San Francisco, if not worse. The story of Luke's death made him sad and he now understood why it was hard for Annabeth to talk about it. It was also sad to hear about the other deaths they had already heard rumors about. Leo had now discovered how exactly Beckendorf, his half brother died and the same went for Piper and Silena Beauregard. In the end, Piper stated that she went with Annabeth's version, that she had been a hero and didn't quite agree with Drew at that point. When they were finally done, there was silence in the room. On the table, there was still the picture of Percy Jackson and Annabeth, arm in arm. These two had been through so much together…it must be so hard for the daughter of Athena to accept what Hera did to him now. But he realized something else.

"I understand why he is your leader now. It makes perfect sense. And I'm also completely certain that we well need him as a hero of the prophecy. It's sad that he has to be part of two but there's no way we could do it on Leo's ship without him being there." He smiled and Annabeth and Leo nodded.

"Oh yeah. It could be handy to have someone who can control the ship with his mind…I wish I could do something like that. Swoosh and the ship would build and stir itself." He made some strange noises and hand motions and Jason grinned, amused by his friends oddness. Even Annabeth and Grover joined in the laughing this time. Even though it had depressed her, Annabeth also looked a little better than before.

"I agree. It's a shame he has to go through the trouble again but he's a person you can always need in an alliance against evil because you can be a hundred percent certain he would never betray you. Plus, he's strong. I just wish I could be by his side to…" but she stopped and shook her head, suddenly standing up from the couch.

"No, forget about that. Let's get to bed, guys, it's already late." And with that, she dismissed the little group into bed. They divided the beds upstairs and the couches downstairs and when Jason finally closed his eyes, he felt a lot better about this whole mission but also felt like he had much to comprehend to if he wanted to match up with Perseus Jackson…

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_Blub. Yeah, that was it. Told you, long enough. I'm sorry this is here instead of real action. That's why there'll be another chapter this weekend, I promise you that :) Hope you enjoyed it even though it was boring. Sorry again about that xP_

**Please tell me what you think! :3**


	64. Torn apart by a single Dream?

_February, 27th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Blub. Yeah, that's about what I have to say to this :D  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXIV**

**Annabeth**

She awoke with wide grey eyes, staring at the ceiling. A deep breath entered her throat as if she had been holding it and she almost jumped out of bed. Her heart bummed in her chest and she didn't know what she should feel exactly. Looking around her, she saw that she was still lying in the bed room she had decided to share with Yuki yesterday. A part of her wanted the daughter of Khione to be under watch and she considered herself to be the best for that job. But right now, she was devastated, shocked, not being able to breathe or think properly.

Looking down at her hands, she saw them shaking violently and decided to get up and calm herself down. Her knees almost wouldn't take the weight but she soothed her breath and her body responded much better. While she made her way to the bath and finally got some water splashed all over her face, her thoughts went back into track with her body, letting the dumb feeling disappear…

She had just met Percy.

This hadn't been a regular dream. He had really been there, right in front of him. For a short second, she had even touched him, even if it was only her fingertip on his cheek. Still, that was more than she had hoped for before they reached San Francisco. His skin had been as warm as she remembered and those seagreen eyes wouldn't let her go for a even a second. Leaning on the basin, she let out a deep breath. Gods, this was so messed up. Who sent her a dream like this? It was torture…Nothing more and nothing less. Slowly, her body left the bathroom on the second floor and she made her way through the corridor. Halfway through, she noticed the big window on the side.

Outside, the storm was still raging, unchanged by the experience the blonde just had. She glanced down at the windowsill and finally decided to stay here. She still wore her loose sleeping clothes including a loose jeans and shirt. A half-blood was always ready to run away while on a quest. She wouldn't even dare to pack a pajama. The daughter of Athena sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest while her grey eyes wandered outside, looking at the raging storm and the white layer of snowflakes constantly flying down.

Percy…he had suddenly been there. This hadn't been her first dream in a white orbit like that. It had appeared to her several nights before while Percy was gone but she had always been alone, feeling the pain of his loss even more when not even the other campers were around. That dream had been one of the reasons she had been so freaked out inside. Now she wondered if it had been on purpose. But that was just irrational. Her thoughts went back to Percy himself. He had looked just as she remembered him. Messy black hair, grey streak, deep seagreen eyes. But that purple shirt…it just didn't fit. She had also missed the camp necklace on his neck and wondered if he had been forced to take it off and if he was still using Riptide.

She had wanted to kiss him, hug him so badly. But he had ruined all her hopes when he asked her for her name. Right now, she still had to grab her shirt over her heart at the thought of it. 'You're Annabeth, right?' Gods, at that very moment, she realized how hard this would all be. Of course, she had thought of it before. But she thought that maybe, just maybe, Hera had left Percy some memories of her like he left some of Thalia for Jason. The moment he spoke those words after all the years they knew each other and after she grew to love him this much…no, this was just shattering her. She could pretend to be tough all she wanted but this was just too much for her to take in one night, one brief moment of seeing him there and then realizing he wasn't really present, wasn't himself any more.

Without her realizing it, tears had made their way down her pretty face. They were flowing freely now, soaking her jeans because she put her face onto her knees. Silent sobs escaped her throat without her being able to control it. She had wanted to tell him…everything. Wanted to yell at him for forgetting her, punch him, just find a way for him to remember. But all of that wasn't possible. Hera's plan was maybe stupid and hurting her like nothing else did but it was necessary. So everything she was able to do was stare at him and make him stay where he was, make him prepared for what was to come or maybe tell him she was on her way. The daughter of Athena had to be careful not to reveal too much because she would risk for him being discovered to be different than the Romans. She couldn't risk being the reason he was possibly killed, that would just murder herself inside. Not being able to speak to him freely and seeing him stand before her without him remembering what she was to him, what he was to her and what they went through together…

Honestly, right now, she felt like she could break apart completely.

"Annabeth, is…i-is everything alright?" a small voice asked right beside her and the blonde was almost falling from her seat to the floor. She had completely not noticed Piper approaching beside her, a glass of water in hand and a concerned look on her beautiful face. Seriously, in that fuzzy moonlight, Annabeth realized that she maybe really was a daughter of the goddess of love. But she just shook the thought away and stopped her sobbing, looking away from Piper so she wouldn't see the tears. Unnecessary, she knew that. But her pride wouldn't allow her to show this stuff so freely.

"It's okay, I just…you should get some rest, Piper. Why are you up so late?" she asked, anxious to change the subject. Unfortunately though, Piper wasn't fooled. The brunette raised an eyebrow and sat on the opposite site of the windowsill, looking at Annabeth with not only concern but also stubbornness.

"Don't you change the subject. I know we don't know each other well but…even I know that whatever could make someone as strong and vicious as you cry shouldn't be kept inside. Is it because we made you talk about Percy so much today? Is it about Thalia? We'll find both of them somehow, I-"

"No, it's not that, Piper. I appreciate your concern but I'm not as poor as that." She smiled and whipped her tears away quickly so she could look the daughter of Aphrodite in the eyes. They changed color in the moonlight but her look also made Annabeth feel a little better inside. Piper knew a bit of her pain. Maybe she was really the first person in the group right now to talk about this. So she sighed and turned her gaze back outside.

"I had a dream just now. Not one of those regular dreams, not even a normal demigod dream. I was in a white orbit, completely alone. That happened to me for quite some time now. This time was different though because…" she paused and took a deep breath, preparing herself for his.

"Because this time, Percy was there with me. The present Percy, the one that is currently at the Roman camp. H-he was right there in front of me and I couldn't even-" she interrupted herself because her voice had kept betraying her. Again, she tried to calm herself and whipped her eyes with her sleeves again before continuing.

"He was asking my name, Piper. After all that I told you today, all we've been through…I knew he may have lost his memory but having him standing there, saying just that, it just…I couldn't even-" she couldn't finish the sentence. The blonde bit her lip and leaned the back of her head against the side of the window, staring at the sky outside and hoping her tears wouldn't make it out. Beside her, Piper seemed to have totally forgotten about the glass of water in her hand. She reluctantly placed it on the floor beside her and listened to what Annabeth said. Then her eyes widened and she slapped her hands in front of her mouth, staring at the daughter of Athena.

"No…Oh gods, Annabeth, that's just cruel! I…" she seemed to search for the right words but then suddenly wrapped her arms around the older teenager and sqeezed her closer. Annabeth was first shocked, but seeing as she was completely at the edge of a mental breakdown right now, she decided no to argue and let herself sink into Piper's shoulders. There, she lay still of a while, although she couldn't deny that there may have been more tears. After a few minutes, she finally pulled away and breathed in slowly.

"Thanks." She whispered and whipped her eyes with her sleeves again. Piper just nodded as a reply and also sat down with her back on the side of the window so they were both facing each other. It was quiet for a short time before Annabeth finally spoke again, her voice a lot calmer.

"On the bright side, I know that he's alive and well. And he did know my name, he was just not sure, that's why he asked…" she paused and smiled to herself, staring out into the blizzard again. Then she sighed and pressed her lips together.

"But I also have bad news. They send him on a quest." She looked at Piper, whose eyes went wide.

"_What_? But he must have just gotten there, how could they…" she trailed off and Annabeth just snorted.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. But then again, you guys also went on a quest and that even just a day after you got to camp. So it's not that surprising. Still, it'll be much more difficult to find him and be sure he's okay when he's not staying at Camp but wanders the country freely. He could meet anything out there…" Piper nodded in agreement, her face also a little darker than normal.

"Maybe we'll meet him before we even get to San Fran." Piper suggested and shrugged. Yeah, Annabeth would like to believe that as well…

"I'd like to say we could…but even if our luck could ever become that good, I'd just jinx it by suggesting it." She smiled sadly and Piper winced.

"Oh, sorry." She said sheepishly and stroked her fingers through her untangled hair. She looked as if she had just come out of the bathroom as well and Annabeth wondered how long she was sitting here already.

"No problem, you don't have as much painful experience as I do. Say, why were you up so late again?" she tilted her head. Right now, she was really glad Piper was here though. She didn't know what she would have done when nobody came by here and she had cried all for herself. This way, she had been able to realize she wasn't all alone and even though Thalia was gone and Percy was too –at least the part of him that knew her-, there was still hope resting in this team, that made its way to the Roman camp. And when they finally got there, they could change things. Everything, the outcome of this war. Annabeth couldn't just give up. That was also totally not her style anyway. She would keep going until she got the Percy she knew back. It was what she would want him to do for her too and it was what he did do when she got kidnapped. Now it was her turn and she wouldn't just give in to her emotions like that! Piper just shrugged as a response.

"I don't know…somehow I lay awake thinking about what you told us about Percy and I'm wondering how this whole seven demigod thing will work…I was suddenly worried if Percy and Jason would get along at all or what kind of demigods the Romans will send in. And then there's this feeling we're trapped here on purpose and I'm afraid we're not going to make it, sitting around here all day while we wait for the storm to stop. When you and Jason fought…it just got me thinking…" Annabeth just looked at her while she confessed her thoughts and then suddenly had to smile honestly.

"You really are a smart daughter of Aphrodite, if not the smartest I've seen yet. Yeah, those are all my worries too. But you can't let that influence your sleep, we need our temper to be at its best while we're trapped here. I feel something is strange about this storm and this house…I don't know what exactly it is yet but I hope we're getting out of it soon and alive. And don't worry about me and Jason. We were both just stressed out I guess…the whole thing about Thalia…well, I bet you can imagine." She cut off her line of thought and just avoided Piper's gaze for the time being. The brunette seemed to think about it and finally nodded.

"Thanks. I think you're right with what you said. I really appreciate you being here by the way. Another quest with just the boys and that much pressure on us…it's really nice to have someone with experience with us. Jason doesn't say it but I'm sure he's glad as well. Leo…I never really figured out how his brain works so no idea." She laughed and then stood up, handing Annabeth a hand for help. She took it and smiled at Piper's words.

"Hey, no problem. It's also cool to have some new faces with you. All three of you are doing great and you are all valuable fighters. I couldn't have asked for a better team for this task. Now let's get to sleep before we over compliment each other or something." She shook her head and Piper nodded in agreement, both of them where smiling now.

When Annabeth had made sure Piper was back into the living room where Jason, Grover and Leo were sleeping (they had decided that nobody should be forced to sleep alone so they prepared the living room to carry four people, adding a mattress from upstairs), she went back into the room herself and Yuki shared. She sneaked back to her bed and laid down, when she suddenly noticed something strange. On her nightstand, her Yankees cap was lying In a slightly different position. And on top of it, there were dark spots, as if it had been wet all over the place. Annabeth touched it with a deep frown and glanced over at Yuki, who at least pretended to sleep. Her grey eyes became slits but she kept quiet about it, crouching under her blanket and closing her eyes, trying to let sleep find her again…

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, I know, crappy chapter xP But this just got me so worked up emotionally...I had to write it down xP Hope this all was still reasonable somehow. Any why is the cap wet...mh...;P Hope you enjoyed it, three updates per weekend are busy but possible...I think about what I'll do next week :D Until then, please be patient with me and have a nice week, I really loved how you supported me this weekend, thanks, guys *hugs*_

**Please tell me what you think! :3**


	65. Lightning in the Alley

_March, 5th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Gods, I'm so, SO terribly sorry T_T I wanted to upload earlier but then plans changed for this weekend and I ended up on a mountain in a castle in a room full of children that I had to supervise and tell how to dance while singing. Don't even ask how I got there but it was an internet AND computer free zone so no writing for me, unfortunately xP Yeah, I'm really sorry about that x_x that's also why there's only this chapter this weekend, I'll TRY to have three next WE but I'm not promising anything since I'll get a visitor and I don't plan to let him down so I can write...xD_

_So yeah, life is beginning to catch on with me again. But then again, I want to keep this rhythm up even if university starts again so I better get used to it *shrug* _

_Now to the chapter: I enjoyed writing this somehow. They finally get out of that house. In the beginning, I planned their stay there for even longer. I think you're also going to like the end :)_

_Btw, congratulations to _ImpatientKid_ for the 700th review! *hugs* I'm curious who'll break the new record 8D  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXV**

**Annabeth**

This was getting seriously unnerving. They were still trapped in the mortal house and Annabeth's nerves were at the verge of bursting. A complete day had passed and it was already noon on their third day here. She couldn't stand it anymore. Now that she was so certain Percy was somewhere out there and there was a chance to meet him, there was a glimpse on the horizon, she didn't want to sit around here in the house and wait for that stupid storm to end. The following night hadn't made it better because she had had another dream about him in the Castra that wasn't really reassuring. Seeing him lying in a bed, surrounded by healers and a blonde grabbing his hand while he seemed to be in deep pain wasn't really something Annabeth enjoyed to see. Plus, who held up this storm just to trap them here in Colorado Springs of all places? This was just stupid, seriously.

Then again, she felt like there was some bigger plan behind this that she wasn't able to grab yet and she hated not knowing something. The others were also not in a very good mood. Yesterday had been pretty boring. They had their full strength back by now and it wasn't really good for the demigods to be trapped and not being able to do something about it. Being stuck in the same place was also not really good for their community feeling. Of course, it was good in the beginning, with Annabeth telling them about Percy and also talking to Piper at night. But after that, she had the feeling they were getting more on each others nerves than anything else. She didn't know why exactly but it totally bugged her to be forced to stay here. Their supplies wouldn't last for much longer either, maybe that was also something that helped her mood drop.

Finally, she decided to make lunch for everyone. Normally, she wasn't the cooking type but seeing as in this group, she seemed to be the one with the most experience in this field, she volunteered to do so. Grover helped her and the others were somewhere around the house, she didn't know where exactly. She was just salting the soup when Jason came in together with Piper and Leo. They helped lay the cloth but then sat down at the table. The house shook. Outside the window, the snow had already covered two meters, making it almost impossible to look outside. Still, the storm made the house shake from time to tame and all of them were afraid it could collapse under the weight of that much snow any minute. Jason shook his head and gazed outside the window, shuddering.

"We have to get out of here." He commented with a bitter tone in his voice. Annabeth pursed her lips.

"Well, that's unfortunately not quite possible. We wouldn't survive for two minutes out there." The blonde countered with a bitter tone in her voice. She hadn't realized how bitter it had sounded until Jason glared at her.

"I know that. I'm just saying that this building won't last much longer. Would you stop being so bossy?" his blue eyes stared at her and somehow, this was the point where she snapped. It wasn't because of Jason but all of their nerves were tense since yesterday, none of them was able to sit still properly any more. But this comment just gave Annabeth the rest. It wasn't as if she had something against Jason, it was just the way that he reminded her of either Thalia or Percy and was yet so different that got her nostalgic and at the same time kind of mad. She laughed sarcastically and turned around, the kitchen knife still in hand.

"Oh, so _I_ am bossy, oh great son of Jupiter?" she asked and glared at him with her typical sarcastic stare. Unfortunately, this seemed to provoke him even further and Jason stood, slamming his hand on the table. They stared at each other intensely. Grover wanted to open his mouth but Annabeth shut him up with a warning glare. That caused Jason to continue.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean! You're bossing all of us around as if you know everything better than we do! Maybe that's the reason we fail all the time, maybe that's the reason we lost Thalia!" he seemed to regret what he said for a short second but then his gaze hardened again. He wasn't taking it back. Now that was enough. Annabeth swirled around the kitchen knife and slammed it point first into the kitchen surface, letting it crack open where the blade hit. Then she pointed a finger at Jason and came closer, the other hand at her hip. The son of Jupiter as well as the others flinched at what she did with the knife and nobody dared to move from where they stood.

"Oh, really? Well that would be because I DO have more experience than most of you! I was training at camp since I was seven, I was on the run with Luke and Thalia even before that, fighting monsters all over the country and I've been on enough quests and locations with Percy to know how this works. And now I'm here with you, a Roman demigod with nearly no memory, two others with no experience and Yuki, another Roman and on top of it all a daughter of Khione!" Jason countered immediately. Annabeth didn't notice Yuki standing in the door, seemingly unsure about something and holding an object in her hand the blonde couldn't make out at the moment.

"Well, you have? Then I guess you're mentally instable or something, because nobody cares what you or that Percy guy have done and nobody cares who the heck Yuki's mother is! I just guess you-"

"STOP!" suddenly, Piper stood as well. Until now, Annabeth hadn't even noticed how she had glanced between the two. Her voice soothed over her with so much power that Annabeth wasn't able to resist her, even though she knew about her powers very well. Her arms automatically relaxed and she stared at Piper questiongly, noticing that she had a sad expression on her face as if she was forcing herself to do this, not really content with it either.

"I don't know what's wrong with you but you're probably just sick of being stuck in here. I know that you both don't really think that way, so please stop saying this stuff! Jason? Annabeth?" to the end, the power in her voice dimmed down and made Annabeth able to think about what she said exactly. It all seemed to logical…why had she been mad again? And no, it wasn't Piper who made her think this way. At least not completely. It was really as if something had influenced her to act this way…From the corner of her eye, Annabeth saw Yuki putting that something from her hand into her pocket quickly and noticed her disappointed expression she quickly tried to hide. But she wasn't really in the mood to react to that right now.

"I…what the heck was going on with me?" Jason asked and held his forehead, obviously also confused. Annabeth looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you really thinking that way, Jason?" she asked with a slightly hurt tone. It made her feel guilty, hearing that he thought that way about her behavior. But Jason shook his head.

"Maybe at some point I did, yes. But I know you have your reasons and it's good to have you say something when we don't have a clue. I-I'm sorry…" he said finally and sighed. Annabeth nodded and managed a smile.

"I'm sorry too. I know it's in your nature to lead, I didn't want to offend your leadership qualities or something."

"Great. Now that you two wranglers are ready, can we leave already?" Leo suddenly commented and stood up as well. Annabeth blinked hard and they all stared at him. Piper shook her head.

"Where to, the storm is still-" but she interrupted herself and stared out the window, her colorful eyes wide. Annabeth followed her gaze and her eyes widened as well. What the…

"It stopped…" she whispered, startled. Indeed, outside the window, in the small gab between the snow and the window frame, there weren't any snowflakes falling any more. It was as if the storm was never there, even though it could be seen by the thick layer of now of course. After their astonishment calmed down, the group of demigods almost jumped in excitement. Annabeth had her rucksack already packed, the others searched for something to transport the goods they would "borrow" from this house so they could go on better, such as an unused toothbrush or food et cetera and also some bags to pack the stuff into, even if they were just shopping backs or a school rucksack. Annabeth decided they would eat the soup she made and after they all quickly swallowed it down, Jason finally opened to front door.

"Oh…" he said, raising and eyebrow. Annabeth almost had to laugh. In front of the son of Jupiter, there was a wall of snow, as tall as the doorway and almost crumbling so the whole stuff would fall down on him. Leo behind them cleared his throat and rolled up his sleeves.

"Time for a little fire." He said grinning and began to work his way through it. The snow fell down on him several times but finally, he managed to make them a proper kind of staircase to the level the snow was. After that, Yuki agreed on leading, making sure the snow wouldn't let them sink in. She said she could sense where the surface was stable and so they just followed her lead, even if they had to stop several times because Leo tended to sink in anyway. Yuki mumbled something about that he had a too high body temperature.

"Thanks, Ice princess, glad you think I'm hot." Leo just countered when he heard her and grinned. That caused the girls to roll their eyes and Yuki to shoot him a murderous glare from her ice blue ones. Annabeth shook her head, amused and urged them to hurry. She didn't want to get caught in this storm again, in case it returned she at least wanted to reach civilization, maybe they could figure out where to get some kind of transportation.

Finally, they reached a supermarket. Annabeth decided it would be best to stop by and add some supplies to their list since they just had her backpack and the little stuff they borrowed from the house. She still had a little mortal money and since the supermarket was strangely completely empty, she left it at the counter while they stuffed their bags with useful things like food, cheep clothes, stuff like that.

Outside on the snowy street again, she noticed that the whole neighborhood seemed abandoned. What was it with this town? There weren't any humans in sight, no traces in the snow and nobody had cleared up the streets. The daughter of Athena decided to look into several other houses. This was just too strange….

As she suspected, the other buildings in the neighborhood were just as empty. They saw little shadows there at the windows as well and found some ferrets frozen in the gardens. _But this can't be possible…why should she_- but Annabeth interrupted her thoughts. No, that was just too crazy and impossible.

"Are you suspecting something?" Piper asked Annabeth with a frown. The blonde could see that the Charmspeaker was completely clueless. After thinking about her suspicion a little further, she shook her head.

"No, it's…it's nothing. I don't have a clue, really." She said and urged them to walk on even though this situation really bugged her. But that was all more are a reason why they had to get out of here! When they stopped by a gas station, she suggested they needed to talk to Chiron and the others agreed. She asked Leo to free the water pump from ice and they indeed managed a rainbow, even if the water nearly immediately froze when it hit the ground. Leo suggested they could try calling Percy directly. Annabeth just shook her head and explained that that wasn't possible, he would be discovered then and they didn't know how much he remembered yet. It'd be too risky, even if her heart wanted to agree with the fire user, her mind told her not to. As a daughter of Athena, she listened to her mind, even if it wasn't a pleasant decision. She got out a Drachma and tossed it into the fuzzy rainbow.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering." She pleaded and folded her hands. Then she opened her eyes and spoke loud and clearly. She heard Yuki behind her asking Piper what she was doing and Piper quietly explained the I-M system to her.

"Show me Chiron at Camp Half-Blood." Annabeth said and the mist in front of her formed to show the archery fields of Camp. There was also snow there but it was a tiny layer, just to make everything look pretty, not like here, were you could barely stand stable. The Centaur was standing with his bow drawn and obviously just showing some kids how to hold it. Yuki gasped.

"Is that a Centaur?" she asked in disbelieve. Annabeth ignored her.

"Chiron!" she waved to get his attention. Bewildered, the Centaur turned and when he saw Annabeth, he let go of the arrow in his hands, making it fly in an inappropriate direction. Some screaming sounds could be heard from out of their view but Chiron ignored it.

"Annabeth! You're okay. Where are you, not in California, am I right?" he turned and raised an eyebrow. That must have been obvious due to all the snow around them. Annabeth's head dropped slightly and she sighed.

"No, we were trapped here in Colorado Springs because of a snow storm for almost three days…" she told him about what had happened up until now, what occured to Thalia and what was strange about this town. Chiron seemed to think and the more he heard, the more worry crossed his face.

"Gaea is getting more powerful, manipulating more weather gods and reviving monsters to slow you down. The thing about the town…no, that doesn't sound good. You should get out of there." He paused and sighed. Then he continued.

"It's good you called though, Annabeth. I should probably tell you that-" but suddenly, the water stopped and the mist quickly dissolved. The building shook and a crack formed in the wall. Her eyes widened and she then cursed violently several times in ancient Greek. She stomped her foot on the ground.

"Aarrgh, Gaea! Now she's even manipulating our communication! Great, just great…come on, let's go, guys." She turned around and marched off the way they came, the others followed her, probably just as distressed as she felt.

At the supermarket, they had found a map of the city and from the signs on the streets that were still visible throughout the snow, they found out where they were so Yuki could lead them further into the center of the city. There, they were hoping for a transportation possibility and maybe some signs for Thalia. Indeed, when they left the neighborhood, they met mortals. The streets were free of snow, emptied by machines just like every normal winter. Lumi, her little light companion hid under her clothes so the mortals wouldn't notice it and Annabeth was glad, they didn't need to drag any more attention to them than they already had. When they walked along a few of those streets, it was as if they had never been in that strangely abandoned neighborhood. What the Hades had happened there? What was the point?

Now back in normal mortal territory, Annabeth felt strange. It was as if she was coming from a dream world. She had felt this before, in Las Vegas and immediately, she felt a shiver down her spine. What if the time- The blonde gasped and grabbed for a News Paper on a nearby stand. She read the head article, something about the snow storm and then above was the date. Letting out a sight of relieve, she dropped the newspaper back. It was all in order, the right year, right month, right day. Thank the gods. Piper and the others looked at her funny but Grover nodded, also looking at the date.

"Good thinking, Annabeth. I had the same feeling." He said and smiled at her. It was good to see he felt a little better. Of course, he had rings under his eyes and seemed stressed out but other than that he looked far better than two days ago, when he had found out not only Percy but now Thalia as well were missing. They were both demigods he had found and of course, good friends of his, Percy was his best friend. Annabeth told him about her dream yesterday and was really glad she did, because it seemed to lift a lot of worry off the Satyr's shoulders.

"What feeling?" Leo asked, shaking her out of her thoughts. Annabeth noticed that they were all staring at her, including the man at the newspaper stand. She apologized to him and then quickly walked away, the others behind her. Then she turned around to explain. They were now at some kind of market place or something, there was a big space between the houses and little shops were at the bottom of most of them. So they had now reached the City of Colorado Springs.

"I felt as if magic was being worked on us in that house. One of the times I've felt something like this we were trapped in a Hotel in Las Vegas for five days and it had felt like a few hours. I thought we might have walked into that kind of trap again and therefore checked the date on the newspaper. But it's alright, we weren't fooled in this way…" she trailed off and thought about what ways there were to work magic on people. She shot a quick glance at Yuki, who was somehow glancing in another direction, severely interested in the frozen spring in the middle of the square. But she shook off the thought when she noticed something. On a building nearby, right next to the window of a shop, there was a poster glued to the wall. The blonde felt the sudden urge to step closer and her still bewildered friends followed her. Tilting her head, she read the words on the poster and pressed her eyes to slits. The poster was once in bright colours that were now washed out and it seemed like the thing was hanging there for a long time. No mortal would pay any attention to it, it looked like whatever date it was saing, it was long expired. But there was another strange thing about it. I was...

"Why is that written in Greek?" Jason spoke out her very thoughts. "I don't understand a thing it's saying." That made Annabeth smile a little.

"Well then you're lucky you're here with us. Seems like Gaea is pretty open about her trap this time around. She invites to a show in "America the Beautiful" Park at 5 pm today." She turned around to look at her friends. According to a nearby clock, it was two o' clock right now.

"That's in three hours." Leo concluded plainly and raised an eyebrow, as if he wasn't sure what to think of this. Neither was Annabeth but she just shrugged.

"That gives us plenty of time to prepare. We could search for more information and see if we can afford to walk right into her trap or continue on our travel." She said and looked into the distance, frowning.

"Er, shouldn't we refrain from walking into obvious traps? Especially after the last ones we fell for like complete idiots." Jason asked and looked at the others. Piper nodded, seemingly nervous and none of them looked really anxious to do this. Annabeth nodded as well but she also sighed.

"I know, Jason. But you have to consider…this could be the last chance to find out if Thalia is still around here or if she's….fine at all. If there are more of those posters all over the city and she was here, she might also search for us there since it could be her only clue, just like it is ours. If we leave the city today, I don't know if we'll be able to see her again at all…" she played around with her necklace like she always did when thinking hard. "I don't like walking into obvious traps also, Jason. And I also know that Gaea probably planned all this but…I just really don't want to lose any more of my friends..."

Jason seemed to consider her speech. He frowned and stroked over his belt, where his sword was strapped to his side. His thumb wandered over its hilt and he seemed to be thinking really hard. It was difficult for Annabeth to wait for his decision so long. Normally, she only had to deal with Percy's opinion and since he knew her really well, he seldom argued with what she wanted to do, even if it was dangerous. Who was she kidding, _especially_ if it was dangerous. In contrary, she also put up with his crazy plans sometimes, even if anybody else would probably put the son of Poseidon in a mental institute for any of them. But after Jason had screamed at her in the kitchen today, she didn't want to appear that 'bossy' any more. So she waited. Finally, Jason sighed.

"Alright, I guess we should try it. But in the three hours, she should probably take the best precautions we can." Annabeth agreed and together, they searched the location on their map and made their way there, checking for traps, which was easy since they had Leo. The son of Hephaestus didn't discover any mechanical traps, which was good with Annabeth. But she still had that feeling something was extremely wrong here. The park was pretty and they decided to sit on a bench to wait for whatever awaited them.

At 5 pm, Annabeth began to feel a tiny bit nervous. Her fingers kept rubbing over the handle of her knife and Lumi in her jacket was making a ruckus as if he also noticed the tension in the air. The others seemed just as tense, all grapping their weapons and staring down and up the small ways throughout the park. Nothing happened, not for another hour. The sun was slowly setting and the shadows were getting longer. This only added to Annabeth's nervousness. Fighting in the dark wouldn't be good. Lumi got out from under her jacket and lighted a little of the park around them before the actual lamps went on. Slowly, all the people that had actually been in the area disappeared until they were completely alone. The air was so cold that their breaths created little puffy clouds when leaving their mouths and Annabeth was beginning to shiver slightly due to the wind that crept through her jacket.

Suddenly, a noise could be heard. It was something between a snarl and a bellow, Annabeth wasn't completely sure. But something rustled in the bushed behind them and immediately, all demigods and the Satyr stood, weapon in hand. She couldn't see the entire being but the shadow it casted in the light of the closest street lamp was enormous. Lumi flew around and suddenly got a little brighter, showing off gigantic teeth and something that looked like snakes. The overall image was gone too quickly but it was enough to make them all cringe and cause Annabeth to swallow heavily. This looked nothing like something they could actually handle. And Thalia wasn't here either. Maybe they should really just…

"Erm…run?" Leo quietly suggested and they all slowly took a few steps backwards before Annabeth turned around and ran as fast as she could, hopefully out of sight of that horrible being. What the Hades was that? It had looked like a dog but then again it really wasn't. And why did it seem familiar?

The six of them finally reached the city, where they were able to dive into a side street and hopefully distract the monster. Despite that their instincts told her so, she kept the group from splitting up, knowing that that would be exactly what Gaea would want them to do. But because of their numbers and powerful scent, Annabeth could always hear the monster breath behind them or making other noises, sometimes lit up the side of a building. Oh great, another fire breathing monster? Just what they needed.

Around the next corner, they ran into a dead end. Annabeth wanted to turn around and run for another street, when suddenly, the monster was right in front of her, crouching around at the entrance of the little side street. There were containers to their right and the only light now came from the moon –which was full tonight- and Lumi, flying around the alley nervously. Now that it stood directly in front of them, Annabeth was finally able to see the monster's full features. Its head looked like a dogs, as if it was a giant Chihuahua. The back of his body was that of a goat and it seemed to have something trailing behind it. Wait, a Chihuahua…

"The Chimera." The daughter of Athena said out loud and let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Her grey eyes stared the beast directly in the eye, her knife still in hand. The others behind her gasped when they fully saw the beast and heard what Annabeth said.

"This is what Percy fought when he was up on the Arch. I can't believe it…"

"What the Hades? That thing is gigantic, he was 12 years old back then, are you kidding me?" Jason asked, he had obviously paid very good attention to what Annabeth was telling them about Percy. She turned her grey eyes to him, he as standing right next to her now, as if shielding the others from the monster. She looked at him with a serious glance.

"Do I look like I'm kidding to you?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. Jason laughed sarcastically.

"No. Oh, joy…" he said, his sword drawn and the knuckles of his hands white. Behind her, the demigods all prepared from the attack that was certainly shortly before coming. The Chimera was growling at them, checking them out as if to decide whom of them to eat first. Yuki had drawn Thalia's hunting knife, Piper had her dagger In hand, Leo transformed those arm things he stole from the prison into those strange arm blades and Grover had his reed pipe at his lips, ready to play whatever would be the most useful. Still, even if they weren't out of breath from running, Annabeth still wasn't sure if they could make it. According to Percy, it was unwise to charge at its head since it had a poisonous tail and its head was also breathing fire. And it was so gigantic, it was quite impossible to dodge and run in the other direction without having to go underneath it and that was too risky. While her thoughts were racing, the beast slowly breathed in as if it had all the time in the world. They prepared to jump out of the way, even though in this small alley, that was close to impossible. Why had she wanted to come here? It was all her fault…her fault that they would probably die. They weren't Percy. None of them could just heal from poison by jumping into a river and only Leo was fire resistant. Annabeth pressed her lips together as time seemed to slow down when the monster showed its teeth and was about to breath out its fiery breath.

In the next second, a rumble could be heard from the sky and with a quick glance upwards, Annabeth noticed storm clouds above them. But they were different from those who had clouded Colorado Springs for three days straight. These were full of cracking, full of electricity. A lightning bold lit up the alley and hit the monster in front of them at the same time as a spear was send directly through its head and landed at Annabeth's feet. Just like that, the Chimera crumbled to the floor and monster dust was beginning to spray everywhere. Again, lightning lit up the walls and the silhouette of a girl around sixteen could be seen where the monster had just stood. Her features seemed to glow dimly and she slowly walked towards them, grabbing her spear from the floor. She then grinned at her friends with a gleeful gleam in her electric blue eyes.

"Missed me?" asked Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus.

* * *

_Yep. She's alive. Isn't that great? :3 I enjoyed writing her entrance somehow. Shows just how cool Thalia really is :D. The rest of the chapter is to raise the tension about what's happening a bit. Hope it worked XD._

**Please tell me what you think! :3 And thanks for your patients! I'd still appreciate more opinions though :D Where are all the guys and girls who loved my story in the first chapters? Did they give up? D:**


	66. Wounds and Horns

_March, 9th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Wow, this one was kinda fun. I guess I ruined my rule about two chapters each perspective last weekend xD. Have to take a look at that one later xP. Just thought you'd appreciate a little more Percy after all that Greek stuff :D  
_

_** olegnAiDociN:** Yeah, Nico is going to be there ^^. Promise. Let yourself be surprised when exactly though :3_

_AND I decided for a little **entertainment for you guys** to make reviewing a little **more vivid** so you don't have to always write the same on every chapter. I saw this on another fanficiton: The author asks a pop quiz question of the book and the readers say the answer in the reviews. The ones to answer correctly get the next chapter dedicated to themselves :) This way, you're less bored, I have entertainment and you are features on top of that. Wouldn't that be great? **First question is at the end of the chapter** for those who are interested :D An easy one for the beginning.  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXVI**

**Percy**

For a short, terrible moment, he thought that he was buried. Then he realized he was free falling through darkness, which wasn't much better. With a thud, he landed on something slippery and before his hands could grab for any support, he slithered down some kind of pipe, almost bumping his head. From around him, he could hear the others screaming while they seemed to be moving so he assumed that they were too dropped in these kinds of tunnels. It was eerily dark so the son of Poseidon had to concentrate on his other senses alone. He wasn't certain if he too was screaming. Hopefully not. The tunnel system that he was now gliding through seemed rather complicated, taking several rash and painful turns until finally, he dropped to the ground from two meters in the air, landing on solid stone ground rather harshly.

"Ouch." He grumbled and rubbed the shoulder he had landed on. Luckily, it seemed just fine. It was really strange how his body could take so much damage. He wondered if that had anything to do with this curse Lupa had talked about. Probably. Letting go of his shoulder, he looked around the room he was standing in. It was some kind of underground room with large stones making up the floor, wall and ceiling. Somehow, it reminded Percy of those corridors you would see in Indiana Jones movies, where some kind of trap was probably hidden among those stones. Percy raised an eyebrow at that thought. A memory dared to come back to him about another dark tunnel. But something told him that the one he remembered wasn't supposed to exist anymore. Why couldn't he shake that spooky feeling down his spine then?

He then lifted his gaze when one of the screams came clearer to him and suddenly, a girl fell from above and landed directly on top of him, slamming him to the ground again. Another thud and the weight on top of him doubled. Three more followed and by now, Percy felt flat as a pancake. Five Roman soldiers were now lying on top of him and that wasn't really a feeling he recommended. Painful moaning was heard over his head until finally, he managed to somehow inhale and say something.

"Guys…you are a little bit heavy. Just….a little." He breathed and luckily, the others somehow managed to untangle their arms and legs and stood up one after another. Of course Reyna of all people was the one landing on top of him first. Percy grumbled something about broken bones but the daughter of Mars just ignored his complaints and commented that he had made a great cushion for her fall. Then she looked around, eyebrows raised.

"Where are we, anyway?" she asked and looked at the others, at the same time checking if they were all alright. Obviously, Percy really had been a good cushion because none of them had broken a bone, even after the fall from that hole in the ceiling. Dakota and Gwen –the two slimmest of them- complained about hurting joints but that would go away eventually. Despite that, they looked like they just had a walk through some kind of slime swamp because all over their clothes, there was green glibber sticking to their clothes and skin. Dakota looked down at herself, disgusted and tried to get rid of it with a tissue from her pocket. She handed it to Percy afterwards and he cleaned up most of the stuff from his skin. It was really itchy and he didn't want to know where that stuff came from. Percy then glared at Bobby, remembering their fight from a few seconds ago but decided to drop it. They had obviously just stumbled into some kind of trap and he didn't want to keep up childish fights when they were probably in severe danger.

"This is exactly why we should have avoided the ground. It's what the prophecy said. But to where we are…I don't know. And I guess we won't be climbing up those pipes. So the only option to find out would be to continue through that tunnel." Percy commented and pointed to the end of the room, where an open doorway showed that there was a slightly lit corridor behind it. There were torches attached to the wall of the room that made it look even more like a ruin. Reyna shot him an angry look because of the first statement but soon let it drop, sighting.

"You're probably right about that. Let's go, guys." She turned towards the exit and marched forward. The others followed but after a few steps, Percy stretched out his hand to Bobby, since the son of Mercury still had his sword.

"Give it back already." He said, glaring at him with his seagreen eyes. The blond just shrugged and kept marching forward with an indifferent expression on his face.

"I dropped it." He just commented and caused Percy to stop in his track. He felt the blood rushing to his head out of anger and balled his fists. But then he suddenly remembered the special property of this weapon and then grinned, keeping up with Bobby.

"It's okay, I forgive you." He simply said and smiled a knowing smile. Completely confused, Bobby stared at him as if he was completely insane. He had obviously awaited Percy to get angry at him again and maybe he had hoped to have Reyna on his side this time. But Percy wouldn't play as the Roman wanted him to. He fell back while walking and was now on one level with Gwen, who shook her head at him, a questioning expression on her face.

"What was that about? Won't you be in a disadvantage without your weapon?" she asked but Percy just shook his head as a response. Dakota had walked up next to him, tilting her head as if that had been her question exactly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Just you watch." He said and with that, dismissed the subject. Then he sighed and turned to Gwen, this time looking at her with a question in his eyes.

"Are you feeling any better yet?" he asked and noticed that in the dim light, Gwen looked slightly better than yesterday. She seemed confused about his sudden subject change but otherwise nodded.

"Yeah, it's a little better-" she was interrupted by a strange sound from above. From the corner of his eye, Percy saw something in the wall opening. The others looked around in confusion but Percy was acting on pure instinct, leaping forward and grabbed Reyna by the collar, pulling her back from where she had just stepped. It had been just in time because the next second, a gigantic sharp blade dropped from the ceiling and landed where Reyna had just been. All of the Romans stood there in shock, staring at the thing while it slowly was pulled back into the slit in the ceiling.

"Maybe we should be a little more careful where we step…" Percy said and raised his eyebrows. Reyna stared at him with wide eyes as if she couldn't believe he had the nerve to actually save her after all she had said to him. He couldn't believe it either but hey, he wouldn't just let her be cut through by some random blade if he could help it. None of them deserved that, not even Hazel or Bobby. She looked like she didn't feel comfortable about thanking him so he just decided to let it drop. It wasn't like he lived off of glory after all. So he shrugged and walked forward. Without further comment, he began to walk first. Reyna didn't even complain. Probably because she knew that with his skin, it would be much safer if Percy led, minimizing the possibility that somebody got hurt.

As If knowing about that, the next trap waited just around a corner. There was just one way to go down here, which Percy was happy about but it also made him somehow nervous. That meant there were more traps for sure. And he was right. When they we around the next corner, suddenly another sharp blade came out of the wall and feathered around so it would have cut Percy and the others in half if he hadn't reacted so fast and grabbed the hilt of the blade with his invincible hands. The thing delivered some incredible force though so he was forced to slither a few steps backward.

"Woah there." He breathed and even though his skin couldn't be hurt, a blade against the hands and stomach wasn't really a pleasant experience. At least that was it for this trap you'd think, right? Wrong. Behind him, he heard another swishing sound and his green eyes widened. This was a trap with two blades, like a scissor...

"Get down!" he yelled and lunged at the closest two of his friends to pull them to the floor with him. Luckily, the Romans were a quite quick bunch and all managed not get themselves cut in half somehow. Unfortunately though, Gwendolyn let out a scream and while the two halfs of the 'scissor' clashed together above him, he looked up to see what had happened. Gwen was holding her side and Percy could see a fair amount of red liquid coming out of there.

"Holy Poseidon, Gwen! Come on, help me get her out of here." Under the blades, he crouched forward and grabbed Gwen under the armpits, dragging her out from the trap. At her legs, Reyna helped him do so. Somehow, she had been quieter ever since that first incident with the blade. The others followed them and Dakota seemed short before a breakdown.

"I-I didn't react fast enough, she pushed me down and then…Gwen, I'm so sorry!" she whispered and her blue eyes were already swimming in tears. As much as Percy wanted to make her feel better, the daughter of Apollo was more important right now. The teenager swung the backpack from his shoulders, freed Gwen of hers and used it as a cushion for her head. Then he Got out a piece of Ambrosia and his can of Nectar from his own bag and held them up to her lips for her to drink and eat. She still held her side in pain and breathed heavily but the god food seemed to calm her down a bit and a little bit of color returned to her face. Percy figured she may be able to speak again.

"Where do you keep your band aids?" he asked and felt her forehead. Somehow, he was completely calm. Normally, he would have figured to feel complete panic inside in a situation like this. Even on the faces of the others around him he could see that they weren't calm at all. Reyna was sitting at Gwen's side, a hand on her shoulder while Hazel stood beside them, her knife drawn and she was staring into the ends of the tunnel warily, her lips pressed together nervously while Bobby stood next to Reyna and stared at Gwens wound. Dakota was kneeling next to Percy and sobbed quietly. Gwen herself now smiled, which seemed odd to Percy. She relaxed her jaw a little and opened her mouth.

"Side pocket." She said quietly and when she relaxed her hands a little, Percy saw her repositioning them and chanting something in Greek again. Quickly getting out the band aid, he took Gwen's wrist and forced her to let go of the wound.

"It's okay, don't waist your energy. I got this." He stated and breathed in slowly. Unfortunately, the wound was a little big so when he tried to hold onto the compressor, he was unable to wrap the band aid around with his other hand alone. Without being able to control it, his lips formed curse words in ancient Greek before suddenly, another hand aided him, holding down the compressor. Bewildered, he looked up to see Reyna looking at him with a hard to read expression.

"Come on, Jackson. You said you got it, now do it." She had to smile at his startled facial expression but then the son of Poseidon had to smirk as well and nodded. In the beginning, when he had first come to the Castra, Reyna had been nice to him. It was irritating, having her as a half enemy in the past few days. Now she seemed to have come over the biggest anger. Somehow he got the feeling that he already knew somebody with this behavior. Someone extremely stubborn but strong and with a strong will that could turn against you if you got on her bad side. But he couldn't concentrate on the memory right now since his hands occupied his whole focus.

Finally, he dropped back and whipped a little sweat from his forehead. Gwen risked another bite of Ambrosia and already sat up halfway, leaning on the wall.

"Wow, you got me scared there for a second, Gwen. Don't do that again. Ever." He grinned and boxed her shoulder slightly. Reyna looked at him strangely again, probably for that gesture but she didn't say anything and stood up. Dakota got up and sat next to Gwen on the side Reyna had just sat on. She again apologized and Gwen said it wasn't her fault but Percy didn't pay much attention. Reyna was saying something to Hazel and Percy raised an eyebrow. What had that been right now? For a short minute, she had been nice to him again but now she behaved as if nothing happened.

"Can you stand?" he now asked Gwen and held out a hand to help her get up. The daughter of Apollo nodded with her lips pressed together and even though she winced, Percy managed to get her arm over his shoulder and support her almost fully before getting her on a piggy ride. After all, the fourteen year old wasn't really that heavy.

"Thanks, Percy. I guess I owe you." She whispered but Percy shook his head while the others walked ahead. They all had their weapons drawn by now but Percy didn't care that he was without one. He just grabbed his rucksack and handed his as well as Gwen's to Dakota, who gladly carried them.

"No, Gwen. You're my friend, you owe me nothing." He readjusted her on his back a little and let her flip her arms around his neck for support. Even though he couldn't see her face, it was clear she was smiling contently and almost immediately, he could feel her warm breath on his neck, telling him that she had fallen asleep.

The next few hallways, they walked in silence. Of course there were a few more traps but now that they were over their shock and all, the others showed their great potential to dodge them like pros. Reyna, Hazel and Bobby build one team, the one with their weapons out that went forward and checked the corridor for traps. A few meters behind them were Percy with Gwen on his back and Dakota, who was carrying three backpacks. Even though she had cried just a few moments ago, her makeup was completely fine now and she was gazing forward in full concentration.

Suddenly, the group before them stopped and since Percy had been in thought, he had almost walked into them. The tunnel had become even darker, the walls now almost black in the very dim light. Before the group, Percy could barely see a few meters before there was complete darkness.

"What is it? Another trap?" he asked, frowning. But Reyna shook her head abruptly and held out a hand to silence him. Hazel turned around and pointed at the corridor before them.

"Don't you hear that? There's something there…" she whispered and was then quiet. Percy listened hard. The only thing the teenager heard was Gwen's breathing into his ear. Then he noticed it wasn't just Gwen's breath. There was something breathing heavily in the darkness before them, something big. The others took a few steps back when the thing seemed to shift.

His first impression was: A man that held out his arms and had a blanket over his head. In the dim light he could barely make it out, okay? But then he realized that it weren't arms but horns sticking out of the head of a massive bull on human legs. It had a ring in its nose and was wearing light leather armor. Around his neck, Percy saw necklaces just like the one he had worn just a few days ago and that was now resting in his backpack. Slowly, his green eyes widened while the beast before him stood up to full height and snorted heavily, lifting a trail of dust from the floor.

"The Minotaur…" Hazel breathed and got her knife ready for throwing while Percy adjusted his stances, still staring at the monster, mouth hanging wide open.

* * *

_Ah, an old friend :'D. Yeah, I love writing old monsters Percy already knows. Hey, let me have that satisfaction, it's cool to write his reaction 8D. Don't worry, there'll be new ones xP._

**I'll try to upload another one this weekend :) Should be working though xP. Pleeease tell me what you think! *hugs***

**WHAT COLOR WAS THE HAIRBRUSH RACHEL HIT KRONOS IN THE EYE WITH?**


	67. Golden Bemusement

_March, 11th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_SmilingSim, lizard 101, xFallingStarx, iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, Undy Pundy, impatientkid, PeaceLoveAndCheese, Llamaswithhats**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_I'm really glad you like my idea with the pop quiz :3 Going to keep that up :D Again, information at the bottom after you read! :D_

_Now on to the chapter! I barely had time to write so this'll be a Roman weekend I guess xD There'll be more time until next weekend so be patient until then xP Now for a little insight in Gwen's head! It's sometimes cool to read about Percy from another perspective I think ^^. Hope you'll like it.  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXVII**

**Gwendolyn**

The daughter of Apollo awoke to the strangely pleasant scent of a warm sea breeze. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep on Percy's back. It had been so comfortable after resting on the floor with that wound and all. Plus, she was understandably tired, not only from being wounded and loosing blood but also still from that Oracle overtake from yesterday morning. Honestly that hadn't really been pleasing. But now, on Percy's back, when he told her she was his friend, she just had to smile contently. She was fourteen now but if she was honest, nobody had called her that openly yet. Sure, she had been on good terms with Jason, but with all he had to do, there had never been a situation where he openly called him that, even though they _had_ been friends of course. Romans just…weren't that honest and open about stuff like that.

As she now opened her green eyes slowly, she realized that the scent she had smelled had been Percy himself. She hadn't distinguished it before but he somehow seemed to radiate a natural scent of the ocean around him as well as an aura of a power Gwen wasn't really able to describe. His arms that carried her were strong and he seemed to grab her tight, staring at something before them. Since her focus wasn't really there yet, the blonde first realized the pain at her waist and shifted in her position a little bit. Finally, her eyes seemed to get used to the dim light again and she glanced at what they were all staring at. She heard Hazel's whisper and her eyes widened. She groaned and moved, signalling Percy that she was awake.

"What's that doing down here? Are we in the Labyrinth or something?" she asked in a daze, rubbing her eyes. Percy's hands suddenly tensed and from what she could see from his face, he looked really serious but also thoughtful.

"No, the Labyrinth is gone. It was destroyed…this can't be it." He whispered and Gwen wasn't sure if anyone beside her heard. But still, he kneeled down a bit and gently set her feet to the floor.

"Can you stand, Gwen?" he asked and the daughter of Apollo nodded. She could now see his face and could tell that he was determined to fight that thing, why ever that was.

"But your sword-" she interrupted her own protest when he grabbed into his jeans and brought out the pen he always had, as if it never left. Bobby now turned his attention from the bull and stared at the pen as if it dropped from space.

"How-" he said and took a step towards it. Percy grinned.

"It always returns to my pocket when lost. Maybe should have mentioned that." He said and uncapped it so it turned into a sword. Then he stepped forward, in front of Reyna and pointed the blade in the direction of the bull. Gwen was shocked to see that the monster stared at Percy just as bewildered as the rest of them stared at the bull. Percy's face was close to a maniac grin when he spoke now.

"Glad to see me again, are ya? I thought my last kill would be enough for a few years…seems I don't have such luck." Gwen blinked. That bull filled out almost the whole corridor with its big body and Percy talked to it like it was nothing. Even Hazel seemed stunned now.

"You fought it before?" she asked, deliberate to get more information out of him, as always.

"Yeah, I guess. Twice." Percy responded though his face seemed unsure, as if he was in pain. The blonde literally saw images flashing in front of his eyes that he couldn't sort in. It must be so painful not to remember ones past. Then again, she would really like to forget hers… Suddenly, Reyna sighed.

"Alright. We two and Bobby, close combat. Hazel and Dakota, support from behind. Gwen, you stay where you are." She ordered in a clear voice, no room to obey. And strangely, Percy didn't even have something to argue. He just nodded, took a strange fighting stance and smiled, like this was the best entertainment he was getting in weeks. Sometimes, she was wondering if the guy was crazy. Just a little. If she looked careful though, she seemed to detect the uncertainty in Percy's eyes which told her he was probably just acting braver than he felt. Was he already learning about that side of Roman pride? She herself had no problem with staying back. Just standing up made her head feel all fuzzy again so she leaned back against the wall and waited for them to finish up.

It was interesting, watching the fight from afar without being in it. Percy was amazing. Even though his movements were reckless, he and Reyna could easily outmatch the monster. Just a few minutes ago, the two had been arguing like arch enemies and now they worked together as a team as if they had never done anything else their entire lives. Well, that was exaggerated but it worked out pretty good, considering the circumstances.

The Minotaur fought fierce. He had an axe in his possession but because of his size, it was hard for him to move around quickly or jump. That was good for the Roman soldiers, Reyna and Percy were nimble and confused the monster while Bobby slashed against its axe with full force, taking his attention. Only a few minutes later, the beast fell to the ground, groaning. Dust evaporated from the wound Riptide, Percy's sword was stabbed in. The monster couldn't speak but it was obvious from the noises it was making that he didn't like Percy for killing him…again.

"Well that was nice." The son of Poseidon breathed with a sarcastic undertone in his voice. He took his sword and watched as the dust already began to form the legs of the monster.

"We better keep moving. I don't want to fight that thing a fourth time…" he said and everybody just agreed by nodding, nobody had to comment that. Dakota was now the one to take care of Gwen, she put an arm around her shoulder. The daughter of Venus smelled of light perfume that reminded her of a meadow in the summer. She glanced over at Percy, who was talking to Hazel, obviously fighting over something minor again. He was really something. Picking fights and standing up against his superior like this really wasn't Roman at all. But his spirit had something inspiring. It was different from what Jason radiated, like you would trust him with everything, even if you normally wouldn't want to talk about it. That thought made her smile. She had already experienced Percy's strange power. Back at the beach at night, he had asked about her mother. Up until now, she had told nobody, not even her closest half-siblings about this. But right then with him, a new soldier she barely knew, she had been tempted to just tell him, pour her heart out. Now that she thought about it, maybe she should have said it. He would probably understand her…

"This looks like the end of the tunnel. Some fancy door…should we open it?" Percy's words shook her out of her thoughts. He stood in front of a golden doorway that crossed their path, seemingly ending the corridor. Reyna eyed him harshly, not liking how he seemed to take command. Gwen had already wondered how Percy still lived, after insulting her and her pride so many times. It was probably just the fact that he was invulnerable and that he was actually better than Reyna at sword fighting (btw another miracle about him) that kept him alive. Otherwise Reyna would have run him through with her double blades by now. Right here she just sighed and stared at the door before them. It was fairly decorated with all kinds of decors, swirls, dots and flowers but somehow, even if it appeared pretty, it was still intimidating to Gwen and probably to the others too, giving away a strange glow of gold that lit up their faces and seemed to make them appear gold themselves.

"Fine, I guess we must try. Am I the only one hesitating to touch that thing?" the daughter of Mars in charge asked and raised an eyebrow at the giant door handle. Percy and the others nodded in agreement but brave as she was, Reyna just shook away the thought and breathed in, lifting her hand to pull it.

All of the sudden, the door sprang open really slow, just slipping from Reyna's hand. She got out her weapons again and even though she had several cuts from the fight with the Minotaur and slime on her clothes from the pipe-ride, she looked pretty much fine for their first day of a quest. Her look into the room they entered was stern and prepared. When they all caught a clear glimpse of the inside though, all of their faces changed to astonishment.

Stepping into the room was different than anything Gwen would have experienced. Since she still clung to Dakota dearly, she entered together with her and both of them gasped for air at the same time. To make it short: The whole thing was golden. Completely golden. And "room" wasn't really a way to describe it either. It was more like a giant hall with golden ceiling, floor and walls. There were strangely realistic statues lined up against the walls on pedestals and their expressions were bizarre, some shocked and some in rage. Gwen wondered who the heck would make such strange statues and that out of pure gold.

"_Di immortals…,_" Gwen could hear Percy mumble before her and he stared at the high ceiling in wonder. She didn't know how do exactly translate the Greek term but she was pretty sure it wasn't a curse this time. Plus, she did have the feeling that since he knew he was actually Greek, the language seemed to get back to him quickly. It was kind of impressing somehow.

"Welcome. I'm pleased to see you like the design of my throne room, demigods." A smeary voice sounded from before them. She hadn't noticed until now but there was indeed a thrown standing before them. They were now standing in the middle of the hall and up the stairs was that throne –also golden-, where an old man sat, next to him a young man that seemed to have tested out the traps outside, because his skin was really scarred all over the place. His expression was motionless but the guy on the throne smiled wickedly. That smile didn't really raise Gwen's hopes about this place. The statues were already weird but these men…

"Your throne room, Sir? But…may I ask who exactly you are and why you have an underground throne room with so many traps set up for whoever wants to…visit?" Hazel was the one to speak, her eyebrows raised but her best polite Roman face on. How she could sound polite about those goddamn traps, Gwen had no idea. However, the daughter of Minerva of course pulled it off. Percy looked like he wanted to object to what she said but Reyna shot him a warning look and surprisingly, he kept his trap shut and settled with glaring at the older guy. Said older man grinned wider and motioned around the room.

"Oh, so you don't know me? But I'm quite known for what I do. The best gold in the whole world, actually." He seemed to look at the statues on the walls and a shiver went down her spine. Wait, were those _actual_ humans? Just a second afterward, the gold-man confirmed her assumption.

"My name is King Midas and you all broke into my throne room. Now you shall die just as everybody else does who dares to oppose me…" and with that, he stood, giving the Romans just enough time to ready their weapons before he already rushed to face them…

* * *

_Yep, another enemy. The Minotaur is just too weak for six Romans, honestly XD. Percy could defeat him bare handed when he was twelve, it'd be exaggerated if he was now super strong, even with Gaeas help. Midas is much more of a thread though..I'm very excited about this battle ;P_

**Now please tell me what you think! :3**

**Answer of the last Quiz:** It was a blue plastic hair brush! Nice one guys :)

**_Next Question:_ WHO DEFEATED THE FIRST SKELETON WARRIOR IN "THE TITAN'S CURSE" AND HOW?**


	68. Annabeth's new Riddles

_March, 16th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_olympusgirl12, saveme57, blazerules34, Chiyo Kaze, impatientkid, Llamaswithhats, PeaceLoveAndCheese, olegnAiDociN**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Just finished writing this, might have many mistakes since I didn't have time nor nerves to correct it properly. I'm too excited about what's coming next...just warning; The Greeks are close to the meeting point, there's probably going to be much of Roman in the next chapters xP. Hope you're okay with that. Now it's riddle time in two ways! :D  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXVIII**

**Annabeth**

For a short second, she felt too stunned to even move a muscle. Then she found herself running forward and hugging Thalia fiercely, tears filling her eyes. She couldn't believe neither the fact that she cried again nor that Thalia was really alright, just standing here in front of them like nothing ever happened.

"Where in Hades have you been? We looked all over for you, I thought you were…" she didn't finish the sentence she mumbled into the hunters shoulder. Odd enough, Thalia just chuckled and shook her head.

"Funny story, really. Tell you later. We should now probably get out of this dumped city before that beast reforms. Come on, guys." She waved them to follow her after her brother first gave her another bone crushing hug and there was another wave of astonishment and asked questions. She just waved them all away and convinced them to follow her when they all saw the monster dust coming together again.

The surprise guest daughter of Zeus had another surprise up her sleeve. Somehow, she had managed to rescue three backpacks from the wreck of the plane. So now, there was a far more cheerful mood as Jason, Piper and Grover got their backpacks. Leo seemed disappointed. With that, he was the only one without a rucksacks, since Thalia had managed to get her own out as well and Yuki didn't have one. But he quickly said he was cool, his tool belt made up for the most. After a few turns through the streets and times that got Thalia cursing heavily, they finally found a street packed with cars and luckily a few people. Like always after a monster attack, you felt better seeing the mortal world again, just to assure you that you didn't freak out completely.

"So, what now? We got Thalia back, how do we get to San Fran? Train?" Piper asked and raised an eyebrow, glancing at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena thought about it.

"No, we don't have enough money for that. Taxi is also out of the way then. Renting is also too expensive…" she trailed off, thinking of other options. Finally, Thalia sighed.

"Hey, I'm sorry to put this in but I think we need to 'borrow' a car. I don't really see another option really." She smiled as if she didn't find that option too bad. Well, it wasn't as if Luke didn't steal them one or two getaway cars when they were kids. They didn't keep them, it was just to get distance between them and the monsters, Luke could manage to drive just good enough to accomplish that. The others glanced at Thalia and seemed to see that she wasn't a first at this.

"You did that before?" Leo asked, obviously interested. Annabeth had to question herself if he was a stranger to that business or not. She had heard that he had run away pretty often. But Thalia just shrugged.

"Sometimes it's inevitable." Then she looked around. "So, who else has experience?" she asked. First, nobody answered. Then suddenly, Piper did.

"Well, I looted a BMW from some guy. But I could talk him into giving it to me so…I don't really think that's the same." She flushed a little in the dim lamp light but Annabeth had to smile at her shyness about her power. At least, Piper would never turn out to be like Drew, using it to willingly manipulate people to her will all the time. Thalia nodded but then shrugged.

"Alright. We'll search some abandoned street and try taking some car from there that doesn't look far too expensive, something old. With our luck, we'll ruin it anyway." She reasoned and the others just agreed and followed her. Since they were mainly wrapped into dark winter coats, it was easy to sneak around. Nobody seemed to be in the street so Leo got out a few tools and began to handle the lock of the car, which was so old that it didn't have an alarm system. Well good for them, bad for the owner. Annabeth didn't really like the idea of stealing but Thalia was right, they didn't have much of a choice. And it was so cool to have Thalia back in flesh that she would practically do everything to keep it that way.

"What are you kids doing with my car!" a voice behind them startled even Annabeth. Man, one second you didn't have your guard up and immeately, everything goes wrong. A mortal was standing in front of the group, obviously outraged and ready to fight for his vehicle or call the police any moment, phone already in hand.

"Get lost, I-I'll call the police!" he said and Annabeth saw his hands shaking. Styx. If they got caught, there were chances they would never make it out here or at least be delayed by a few days and she didn't want that. She turned to her friends to say an order but Piper already stood up and stepped to the front. Her expression was more sure of herself and she breathed in slowly, Annabeth could sense she was prepared to use her power on that mortal to serve their cause.

"Please calm yourself, we well do no harm to your car. It's just that we have a little problem with ours and would like to borrow yours for a few hours. It's completely okay, you already know us, right?" she said in a calm tone and the muscles of the mortal seemed to relax, he put his phone away. Thalia now grinned, stepping next to Piper and lifting her hand. She looked at Annabeth who nodded to reassure here.

"Good Piper, now the last touch." She snipped her fingers and a gust of wind could be found from behind them. When it hit the mortal, he seemed to be completely normal, looking at them.

"Yeah, take my car to visit your uncle, of course. I'll just go get my other one.." he said, turned around and walked away. The daughter of Athena thought about how useful these powers could have been on her other quests with Percy. So much could have been prevented…why didn't Percy learn how to manipulate the mist by the way? He was powerful enough for it, why didn't Chiron show him? She shook away the thought though, when behind them, Annabeth could hear Leo whisper to Jason.

"Is it just me or are our girls kinda scary…?" he asked and watched after the poor manipulated mortal while Jason just swallowed and nodded.

"I heard that, Valdez. Anyway, I don't know how long the effect of Piper's and my manipulation are going to last so fast, all get in there." They all climbed into the silver minibus who could easily carry around seven travellers. The first row had Thalia, who was the oldest and also the one driving and Grover, who took the front seat next to her. Second row where Annabeth, Jason and Piper, which left Leo and Yuki on the last row. She didn't know if that combination would be any good but she had to leave it since they had to make a quick escape before the police caught them. Thalia was luckily a fast but also reckless driver. Somehow, the story Grover had told about her driving the sun chariot popped into her mind and she wondered if Thalia had taking any driving lessons until then, after all she was now technically 21 years old.

"Er, Thalia? Should I perhaps…"

"Shut up, Goat Boy, I'm fine." She pressed through her teeth at Grover's suggestion and Annabeth tried to calm herself that everything was going to be fine. Her muscles were tense the whole time they drove their way out of the city with Grover's guide, since he had the map in his hands. Finally, when the city was behind them and no Chimera or other monster had seemed to follow them, her fingers relaxed and she was able to lean against the window. Her last night had been lacking sleep, so she closed her grey eyes and sighed. After her mind got used to the rhythm of the cars engine, she finally manage to let sleep find her…

* * *

_Again, white light blinded her. But this time, it was different. As soon as her vision cleared, she was in a strangely familiar place. It took her a while to recognize it properly because it was so unexpected. _

_From the first glance, she would have asked herself what the Hades she was doing her. It looked like a broken down amusement park, ruined machines, run down shops and whitened signs all over the place. Then she noticed the one she was standing before. It read "Waterland's newest attraction…" she didn't need to read any further. Her grey eyes widened as she looked around. This was the abandoned Waterland Park they had been in on the first quest with Percy. Her eyes hungrily took in everything she saw, remembering Percy and Grover walking through her together with her. Her legs were taking her everywhere and in her mind, she saw Percy's expression when she looted the souvenir shop or the face he made when she said how embarrassing it would be for the two of them to take the "thrilling love ride"._

_Suddenly, a voice broke the silence._

"_Annabeth, come with me…" it was clearly Percy's voice and it was close. Startled, she turned around just to see a form vanish behind another of those abandoned attractions. Without further thinking, she turned and ran after him._

"_Percy? Hey, wait up!" she screamed and sprinted as fast as she could. If he was again in her dream, why would he run from her? And if it was the memory Percy, why had his voice been as deep as I was when they last saw each other? This didn't make any sense._

_But even though she knew all that and her mind told her to be suspicious, she couldn't help but chase after her missing boyfriend, hoping to see him again, meet him. After a short chase in which he always seemed to reappear further away from her, they reached the "Thrilling ride of Love" that she had thought of before. There were still those webs over the pool but the water Percy had summoned back then had long vanished. But Percy had also vanished. With sad grey eyes, Annabeth watched the scenery before her and remembered what happened here last time, what was so important about this experience that she had to dream of it like this. Tired, she sat down on a nearby bench and sighed deeply. _

"_You're far too young to sigh like this, young woman." A sudden voice beside her made her jump. She looked at an African American woman in a simple brown dress and torn boots who was sitting next to her on the bench like she had always been there. _

"_H-how long are you sitting here?" The daughter of Wisdom asked, puzzled. _

"_Oh, I've been here longer than you, dear daughter of Athena." She said with a knowing smile. That startled Annabeth, she still stared but then realized something. _

"_You were sending me the vision of this here and the one of Percy?" she asked, pretty sure about that assumption. But then…had her last dream about him also just been a vision?_

"_No no, that last dream wasn't me, dear. But yes, this one is my doing. Still owned me a favor…" she stopped in that sentence and sighed, a deep sigh Annabeth had just let out as well, something that told you that the person wasn't just bored but had been through too much to cope it without sometimes letting the air out of her or his body like that. _

"_Who owned you?" she asked, curious who was sending her these dreams, both horrific and good. But the woman kept quiet, staring at the scene before her. After an unbearable amount of time, she finally opened her mouth again. Annabeth noticed how old she was, her skin already crinkling at multiple places in her face and her hands were shaking while she played around with a ring on her finger. She was wearing many, just as she was wearing many necklaces, all appeared cheap._

"_I'm not here for simple talking. I have a warning for you, Wisdomdaughter." She unglued her gaze from the pool before her and looked Annabeth directly in the eyes for the first time. The blonde saw into her irises and was startled that they weren't just a deep shade of brown but also seemed to shine a little red for some reason. Her voice now was also more serious, as if what she was saying was important for Annabeth's or anyone's dear lives._

"_The five stars you are crushing lead you to your own doom. The queen was arrogant against the middle brother, so the middle shall punish her for her words and you for your foolishness." She paused, looking away again as if their talk was finished. The demigod beside her just blinked hard, staring at her. What? She hadn't understood a word she was saying! This was even harder than any oracle text and she expected her to simply understand?_

"_W-What do you mean by that, I don't understand!" she whined and waved in front of the woman's face. Slowly, her full lips began to form a smile. _

"_Don't worry, you will. But understand that there is always a guiding light that leads the wielder home to where his heart lies…" she commented before suddenly, everything around Annabeth began to evaporate into small pixels, flying up in the sky and leaving her behind. She saw the woman beside her smile while she dissolved into small pieces of a puzzle that was now nesting in Annabeth's brain like an evil virus that she just couldn't get out of her system. _

_Another scene materialized in front of her. This time though, she wasn't in her body any more, she seemed to be just a witness of something she wasn't part of. It was dark, like it was night when this happened. Like always with demigod dreams, you couldn't be sure about the time. _

"_Maybe it's around here…" a far too familiar voice let her jump out of her skin. There, out of the darkness, he came in person: Percy. His face was in a frown and he seemed to be under stress, there were rings under his eyes. Behind him, there was a team of other kids, some of them wearing coat and others were just in their Roman shirt. _

"_That's what you said about every damn side lake we just passed, Jackson. Give us a break." A blonde, tall guy complained and dropped his butt on the ground nearby. A brunette girl next to him nodded._

"_Bobby's right. How can you be sure? You probably got that prophecy all wrong. We got here a few hours ago and searched two lakes already. If it was really here, shouldn't you sense it? We should try it further west, this is a waste of time…" her words and those intense grey eyes that glared at her boyfriend created a lot more questions in Annabeth's brain. What was she talking about and what were they searching for? What lakes were they talking about? But Percy just breathed in heavily and looked at his companions, who all seemed really tired. He had that look in his eyes again that told Annabeth he had done it again; cared for his comrades and disregarded his own wellbeing. That was probably the reason he looked so tired. Then again, all of them did. _

"_Fine. Let's just rest here, it's no use searching in the dark anyway. But I don't think we should leave the city, I'm really sure about the hunch with the salt. It all makes sense if you look at it, this is the perfect place to hide it and I'm going to search every inch of these lakes if I have to." With that, he dropped the ground also and it was these words who ended Annabeth's dream._

_Her mind was racing. Where were they…a lake, no, multiple lakes? A hint about salt…NO WAY!_

* * *

With a jolt, she opened her eyes and shot up, just to find herself in the car again, surrounded by her friends and being looked at by Piper next to her.

"Bad dream?" the brunette asked but Annabeth ignored her. She leaned over Piper's lap and undid her seatbelt to be able to lean closer to Grover in the front. With a frown, she saw that Leo was the one driving now. They had apparently stopped somewhere to change drivers and Annabeth wondered why before shaking away the thought and turning her attention to Grover again.

"What highway? Next City?" she asked, hurried, like she was out of breath. Grover was startled, since he was obviously spacing out completely. The map was stored next to his seat, unnoticed.

"W-what? Oh, I don't know. Leo, where are we?" he asked the fire user and turned in his direction. He shot a short look at the daughter of Athena and then smiled dumbly.

"Next stop: Las Vegas, baby."

* * *

_Dudun. Not going to like that, are you, Annabeth? Grover? XD. Well well, have you figured it out already? ;P Both what the woman wants and what Annabeth concludes. If it's right...who knows :D_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! 8D**

**Answer of the last Quiz:** It was Bianca di Angelo who stabbed the first skeleton with her hunter knife and it exploded into black flames without her knowing how she did it! :)

**_Next Question:_ WHAT IS THE NAME OF GROVER'S UNCLE?  
**


	69. Deceitful Royalty

_March, 18th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_cjanimal, SmilingSim, olympusgirl12, iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, Llamaswithhats, impatientkid, olegnAiDociN, blazerules34, PeaceLoveAndCheese**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Wow, I'm impressed how many knew the last answer XD. Well done, guys :). Now for the next chapter: It's one of the shorter kind (still 2.000 words) but rather action packed. I hope you'll like it, I enjoyed writing Dakota's point of view again. Just finished this so please don't specifically look for mistakes XD. YAY, Roman again! There'll be more Roman chapters now, I need them to catch up in time ^^.  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXIX**

**Dakota**

After what happened down in this tunnel, Dakota hadn't really been prepared for another enemy waiting for them. Yeah, that was rash and careless but hey, she was allowed to make mistakes, right? Anyway, right now, she was holding on the hurt Gwendolyn, whose wound she had technically caused herself. Guild was building in her chest when she noticed how the healer had trouble walking so she was gladly taking Percy's work of helping her after the Minotaur was down. It had been impressive to watch the son of Poseidon during this quest. Not only his frequent quarrels with Reyna but also the fact that he was obviously a fierce fighter as well as a good friend. Watching him take care of Gwen like that had been startling, especially as Gwen or Riza (not the time to think about her) was normally the one to take care of them and it had been strange for either of the soldiers to be the one taking care of the healer, that's why nobody had moved so soon.

But right now, that was not important. Her blue eyes fixed on the "king" before them. Who was this guy again, Midas? Wasn't that the guy who could transform anything into gold? Under different circumstances, she as a daughter of Venus might have thought that the power would be handy and cool…but as she saw him into the eyes, she knew the guy was seriously evil and that this ability would rather bring them suffer and difficulty rather than make them rich.

Suddenly, king Midas was moving towards them and stretched out his hand. Since Percy was on the front, Dakota wanted to warn him.

"Percy, watch out!" she shrieked and wanted to grab his arm to drag him away but apparently, the son of Poseidon didn't need any warning. He had already adjusted his stances and made a jump backwards, when Midas jumped after him, he did a backflip and stretched out his sword so the tip was facing him. His green eyes were deadly serious but he also had a small grin on the face, as if he was laughing at the poor attempt the king was making. Gods, he looked scary with a face like that, almost mad.

"Midas? But shouldn't you be dead for a long time now? That's a Greek myth, right?" Hazel said and raised an eyebrow. At these words, Percy chuckled.

"Well, I'm here, right? So if I'm alive then the Greeks are apparently not as dead as you all thought they were. But I'm still wondering…King Midas...wasn't he, like, mortal?" he said, apparently not the complete myth in his head. Hazel frowned and glared at his first comment but then crossed her arms.

"Yes, mortal." She commented and glanced at the king, who now stood directly in front of them, his hands lifted as if they were his weapons, which they obviously were. His grin on the face didn't vanish, even though he seemed to narrow his gaze at Percy as if he didn't like something about him or something bugged him.

"Really good, you seem to know my myth, young Romans. But that guy…that sword…you're a Greek, aren't you, boy?" he nodded to Percy, who looked surprised and then unsure what to answer. Finally, he nodded and Midas' frown deepened.

"Mh…what is a Greek doing with the Romans? This is interesting…just like that Roman that was with those two Greeks, right, Lit? What was his name again?" he asked the young man in the back, barely turning his head. Slowly, the guy came closer as well, strangely not eyeing Percy but her, his stern eyes fixed on the daughter of Venus. Strange, she didn't even have her charm activated…

"Jason, father." He said in a bitter tone and immediately, all the Romans eyes that young man, especially Reyna almost dropped her golden swords and took a step towards him.

"WHAT? You saw Jason? When? Where? Is he alright?" she seemed to want to grab the shirt of that Lit guy but he was fast, drawing a sword that looked like steel, shimmering silvery in the pure gold light of the room. He immediately stabbed at Reyna but the daughter of Mars was experienced and blocked it with her own blades. Midas dismissed Reyna's words immediately.

"Not important right now." He said and glared at all of them in turn. Lit on the other hand raised his eyebrows at Reyna.

"You have a golden sword like him. Ah, this is good. Father, do your offer thing; I want to fight this one. She has fire in her eyes." He spoke to his father without lifting his gaze from Reyna. Midas sighed but agreed, stemming his hands in his waist.

"Fine. Like Lit said, you have a choice to make. I offer you to either be turned to gold by me or fight Lit until you die by his hand far more painfully. Be warned, he was said to be the Reaper of Mankind." The Roman demigods looked at each other quizzically. Dakota had to sniff. Who would take immediate death over the chance to fight? Even she thought that was nonsense.

"You said you met Jason? Did you fight him?" Reyna asked between her glittered teeth. Lit nodded shortly and that made Reyna grin.

"Then I can take you. Bring it on. You guys stay back! Yes, you too." She glared at Percy, who seemed to want to protest and then turned to the scarred guy again, her sword still connected with his. She then swirled around and slashed at him, opening the fight without further comment. Midas before them sighed.

"Ah, what a shame. I had hoped to add a few new statues. Oh well." He shrugged and walked over to a nearby chair, sitting down. Gwen beside her was very quiet but she eyes Reyna in her fight and seemed to study Percy's face intently, as if trying to read him. Her body now began to weight Dakota down, so she asked Hazel if she could help her out and the daughter of Minerva agreed to carry her for a while so Dakota could stretch. She then walked next to Percy, who had his hands clenched to fists and watched Reyna fight as if he had to hold together not to step in. His green eyes were fixed on the guys movements as if reading them closely. Dakota looked at him, worried and reached for his free hand, grabbing it for comfort. This seemed to finally get his attention and he frowned at her, looking back at the fierce fight again. Reyna seemed to outbalance him but Lit learned quickly. He was fast and nimble, as was the daughter of Mars. But the son of Midas also had force in his arms and that made Reyna draw back a little, even though she fought with her two swords. The 'Reaper of Men' was really scarred all over his face and body and Reyna was just giving him a few more. Unfortunately, Lit planted almost equally many strikes at the Roman, one time seriously hitting her upper arm. Dakota felt Percy beside her wince and he took his hand out of hers, stroking through his hair nervously, making a windblown curl flip to one side.

"His fighting style is like mine. I should be fighting him, he's outmatching her. Reyna is used to fighting in groups, this guy is a lone wolf." He whispered and Dakota wasn't sure if that was for only her to hear or just for herself. Apparently, Hazel also overheard and stepped next to them with Gwen.

"I have to agree with Jackson, his style seems different. But you don't need to worry about Reyna, she can fend her own perfectly. This guy has met Jason, that'll make her fight even more than anything else can." She had a small smile on her face and Dakota nodded in agreement. They were both proven wrong, when Reyna was suddenly wincing.

"Urgh." She suppressed a scream, when Lit punched her in the gut with the hilt of his sword, slashing at her neck next, using the punch as a distraction. Just in time, Bobby sprinted forward and pulled her towards him, out of harm's way. Obviously, the punch had been something, because Reyna was now sitting on the floor, holding her hands over her stomach and she cursed in Latin, several really nasty things. Lit, grinning from his victory, glared at Bobby, who glared back furiously. The son of Mercury got out his sword to challenge the guy back, avenging Reyna.

"No, wait. I got this. He's Greek, he should be an even match for me." Percy stepped between Bobby and Lit, lifting his arm to hold Bobby off. The Reaper of Men just laughed loudly.

"You? That girl had an advantage because of her style being relatively new to me. A Greek demigod defeating _me_? I'm the greatest swordsman of my time, do you want a shield, maybe, little Baby?" he asked, grinning. Percy seemed to convert his eyes to slits but otherwise he didn't react to the taunting, just readied his stances and lifted his sword.

"We'll see about that…" he simply said and attacked. Dakota watched with wide eyes. Percy was fast, really fast. But his strokes also seemed to have quite the power behind them, he was equally outmatching Lit, fighting in the same style as him and just after a few seconds, the smile had vanished off his face and he looked grim. Dakota looked around to see Midas lift his eyebrows at the scene, as if he couldn't believe this actually happened. He stood up and came closer, seemingly to watch the fight closer. He came to a halt next to Reyna and Bobby, hands in the pockets of his fancy robe.

Also, as they had witnessed before, Percy didn't get hurt by the sword of his opponent, not one scratch on his skin whereas Lit received many from Percy, he was losing more blood by the minute, making him slower in the process. Beside them, Midas seemed to see that and his eyes narrowed.

The next second, completely unexpected, he suddenly grabbed Hazel's arm. Since she was holding onto Gwen, they both suddenly stood still as stone, gold spreading over their skin. The remaining soldiers –minus Percy, who was still busy fighting- had wide eyes now. Midas was incredibly fast, a mad grin on his face. Reyna screamed, standing up and shoving Bobby aside.

"You ass! Stop doing that, you promised-" she was interrupted as Midas lunged for her. She stepped back but Bobby was obviously too stunned, he was touched by the upper arm and immediately turned to gold as well. Dakota gasped, as did Reyna.

"Bobby! Percy, pay attention, the king is-" but when she turned to warn Percy, she was too turned to gold by Midas' touch, standing still in the position she had her head turned towards the son of Poseidon. Startled by Reyna's scream, Percy had stopped fighting for a second, turning around just to see his friends turned to gold. His green eyes widened and he seemingly wanted to scream something before suddenly, Lit lifted his sword. Dakota wanted to scream, to warm him, but the Reaper of Men punched Percy in the gut with the hilt of his sword with full force, sending him flying a few meters until he hit the wall with first his head and then the back, making him scream painfully. Dakota clapped her hands in front of her mouth, watching as Percy glided down the wall slowly, eyes closed, obviously unconscious.

"You should always get a solemn oath, don't you know that? HA! Now to you, little pretty girl." Lit turned to face her, walking around the golden statues as if that was completely normal. Midas followed her, both had a completely crazy grin on their faces and Lit cracking his fingers while stepping closer.

The daughter of Venus shook her head in disbelieve, gazing at her friends as gold statues and Percy unconscious, if not worse. This couldn't be happening… Tears filled her eyes as the two enemies finally approached her…

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, suspense, I know. But I'm just enjoying doing this far too much ^^". I really hope you're excited how Dakota is going to get herself out of there ;P._

**Please tell me what you think! :3**

**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-  
**

**Answer of the last Quiz:** His Uncle is indeed named Ferdinand. I'm really impressed so many knew that, it was only mentioned once...XD

**_Next Question:_ WHY DID THE SKELETON CAPTAIN ON THE CSS Birmingham DISLIKE PERCY?**


	70. Simply washed away

_March, 24th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_SmilingSim, blazerulez34, olympusgirl12, impatientkid, olegnAiDociN, Crazydragon111, Llamaswithhats, PeaceLoveAndCheese **  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_**I JUST NOTICED: Next review it 750! :3 Get the price, people, get it! :o** _

_Man, I just went to watch the Hunger Games movie...It's amazing! One of the only movies from a book that actually really rocked! :D I had fun :3. Other than that, sorry for the late update, I was busy yesterday. Now you get your chapters today and Monday, both Roman. I loved writing this, it's so fun writing Percy Style even though I'm pretty horrible at it XD. Again, Dakota's perspective. I thought it was important to point out that Venus kids are a lot different from the Aphrodite kids at Camp Half-Blood. Venus' children are all deadly beautiful, literally ;P.  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXX**

**Dakota**

Slowly, her two enemies were stepping closer to her. It was as if they were enjoying seeing her mentally suffer and probably break down in tears. But she was a child of Rome. Even if the situation was hopeless, she couldn't just give up, could she? Percy had fought to get them out of here, Reyna had too and the others would have done the same if they were offered the chance.

In Rome, daughters and sons of Venus were feared just like every other soldier was. Her mother might be "just" the love goddess but when fighting against men, she was the best. Twisting the mind of boys around was a simple task for her. So to the outside, she pretended to break down while inside, the daughter of Venus build up her aura and let it spread as wide as she could, which were a few meters. She had become better at this the last years. At the moment, Dakota was the oldest with this power, she had two little sisters, the twins, that could do the same but they weren't exactly able to teach her since they just came to the Castra at the end of summer. Dakota envied them that they didn't have to endure this harsh war. But that didn't matter right now. She needed to buy time or even defeat those two somehow. Maybe she could somehow wake up Percy. Unfortunately, nobody had mentioned how you could reverse that gold thing until now and since the daughter of Venus was rarely interested in studying all day, she had no clue herself. It might have been mentioned once, she knew the myth alright but maybe it was her stressed out mind that erased the valid information.

"I- No, don't, I really don't want to die! Don't you have any mercy?" she pretended to be fragile, glancing up at the two men with tears in her pretty blue eyes. That mostly got them. In training, when she pretended something like this, guys normally would come closer to comfort her. And then she'd strike them down mercilessly. When they were new at least. If they were stronger or had fought her more often, she was going for her special charm spreading, which still worked to make them motionless so she could use their startled moments to knock them flat. And indeed, this time, as she was using both, Lit suddenly stopped in his track. He blinked at her a few times but then held his father by the shoulder, stopping him.

"Wait, father, maybe we can spare her. She's the only one left, she could serve us or we could bring them to our mistress." Midas remained quiet, he seemed uncertain. A hard nut to crack, huh? Alright, she could still get farther.

"M-Mistress?" she asked, pretended to shake all over, whipping her eyes with her hands. This was good. She was buying time and at the same time, she could drag out information out of those two. They seemed to know something the Romans didn't. The others had told her about that mysterious earth woman in the forest and Percy had once said that she seemed so powerful it had been frightening. So, who were they serving? It wasn't Saturn again, was it? Because that would totally suck…

"Yes, the Mistress who revived us and provided us this underground castle." Lit said, smiling at her dumbly. Strange. While he was fighting, he had appeared as one of those men who were touched by nothing and nobody but now she had him under her spell, her aura swirling around him only visible to herself. She kept her hands in front of her face to hide the hideous smile behind it. If she was honest, it gave her a little satisfaction that her ability worked on him. Opening her mouth again, she wanted to ask more about that mistress but suddenly, Midas, who had been so quiet, seemed to snap out of it.

"Lit! She's only playing with you! Whose daughter are you, Aphrodite? Don't let her fool you." Dakota raised an eyebrow. Aphrodite? That was Venus' Greek counterpart, right? Percy had mentioned those guys were Greek like him. But damn. That Midas seemed to somehow be immune to her powers. How come? Lit on the other hand was still in a trance and she now concentrated her power on him, since that was her last hope. Maybe the son could convince his father or he could step just a little closer…she still had her Pugio (a knife every soldier had for emergencies) and could deadly wound him so at least one opponent was down.

"But look at her, she's so fragile, don't you think we should spare her?" he asked in a trance and looked at his father. Unfortunately, that didn't convince him. He just shook his head and stepped closer to Dakota. Curse that man, he didn't have to come closer, she couldn't touch him without being turned to gold! So she herself took a step backwards without realizing that she had stood close to some kind of pillar and was now pressed to it while Midas came closer, lifting his hand. Lit wanted to stop him but Midas shut him up with a simple warning glance.

"She's dangerous and it doesn't seem like she wants to work for our mistress. You've already fallen for her tricks, she can make you fall In love with her just like her mother. It's best we get rid of her fast. She'll make a pretty statue…" he faced her with a creepy grin on his rather old face and stepped even closer. Dakota thought it she should run for it but soon Midas would be too close for that to be an option, he would just grab her by the arm and her "statue" would look ridiculous. Yeah, it was dumb to think about how you would look as a statue but as a daughter of Venus, she would rather die gracefully than while running away. Protesting now was useless, she even took the spell from Lit to make him normal again. It wasn't any use…she glanced over at her friends, all turned to gold. She would die here, no happy ever after for her. She would never see Jason again or get to know Percy better. She'd never fight with Hazel again or watch Bobby and Reyna finally get together. She would never be real friends with Gwen. Slowly and with sadness in her gaze, the daughter of Venus closed her blue eyes and took a proper composure, lifting her hands from her face and stopping the tears. Then she just waited for impact_. At least I had tried,_ she thought while Midas' hand lifted towards her. _I have done everything I can….I'm sorry, guys._

Seconds passed. No impact came. She didn't feel a hand on any part of her body but suddenly, there was a rustle in front of her and she could feel something warm touching her arm, shoving itself between Midas and her. A distant scent of the ocean filled her nostrils and shocked as she was, she opened her eyes to stare at something she had thought to be impossible.

"_Percy!"_ she whispered, completely bewildered. There was her hero, standing right before her, bare handed (his sword wasn't in his hands but also nowhere to be seen) and shielding her from the king who was gripping his wrist. No, really, he was holding onto it but Percy seemed fine. He wasn't golden. And he wasn't turning golden either, nothing happened. King Midas and Lit seemed in shock, staring at Percy's wrist as if they expected the curse to sink in any moment.

"What's happening…why aren't you turning to-" he interrupted himself and lifted his gaze, looking at Percy as if he saw him for the very first time. He stared into the teenagers sea green eyes and suddenly, his face turned pale, as if realizing something, as if this was one of his greatest fears.

"W-Who are you?" he asked and tried to grip for more spots on his arm, as if he thought that maybe just that one spot was immune. But Percy was still not golden, at least not in the material way. His face was stern and Dakota noticed that his glance was angry, really angry. Never before had she seen him look like this, it was almost frightening. He had held out his arm to stop Midas, as if offering it for him to grab and he didn't move from that position even now. But after Midas' question, a small smile build on his face and he managed an ironic laugh.

"Didn't your mistress tell you? Didn't want to scare you, did she?" he said while pushing Midas' arm aside and adjusting his stance. He now moved even further in front of Dakota, glancing back at her and giving her a reassuring smile before staring at Midas some more, making clear he wasn't fond of the King.

"I am Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. Slayer of monsters and Titans alike." The kings eyes as well as Lits widened and he took a step backward.

"N-no, she didn't tell me…why didn't she, I thought…" he stuttered and almost fell over Lit while trying to back away. Suddenly, a crazy laugh escaped his lips.

"But you can't defeat me, it's too late. Your other friends are already turned to gold and you still have that little Princess to protect, you can't run from me forever and then you still have to fight Lit. It's useless, you'll never get out of here!" he now yelled and breathed heavily. Great, now he really lost it, Dakota thought, raising an eyebrow. But she also thought about Percy's words. What did he mean by "slayer of monsters and titans alike"? So he did fight in the war? But she could swear she hadn't seen him and there was only that one battlefront…was it? Pushing the thought aside, she saw Percy shake his head with a smile, taking a step towards the two and making his stance more stable, as if preparing to jump at anything that came on him.

"It's time to lift the curse from my friends, what do you think?" he said in a certain voice. Wait, he knew? But she didn't and she was pretty sure Midas hadn't been a topic in the last few days, making it impossible for Percy to have the information from the Castra. Since the story was Greek anyway, it was seldom taught at all so why did Percy know? But flowing water….that would explain why Midas had panicked upon realizing his heritage. She looked at Percy's face and suddenly, she saw something else. Was he…bluffing? Had he played for luck all this time? No, that couldn't be, right? That was far too risky! He could have turned himself to gold If he hadn't known he was immune, there was no way-

"N-no you can't! There's no flowing water in my palace to assure that can't happen so don't you try, silly son of the seagod!" Midas grabbed the sword of his son, who stood there and watched the scene, seemingly puzzled, staring at Percy. First, Dakota's hopes dropped. No flowing water here. Then how should they lift the curse? Wait a minute…was Percy waiting for this? He looked so satisfied. So he had really been bluffing, waiting for Midas to split it out himself? What in Hades was he thinking?

"Floating water, I see…that shouldn't be much of a problem." He said and got out his sword, uncapping the pen and then breathing in and out as if concentrating. Pointing the sword at the enemies, none of them dared to move closer. Slowly, the entire room began to shake. Dakota wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a good thing or not. Then she heard something that sounded like a waterfall and her blue eyes fixed on Percy, shocked. What was he doing? She thought there was no water near- Wait, the creek! They had passed a creek when getting here, right? More and more, the building began to shake and Midas was getting mad now.

"What are you doing? Stop this, not my palace, not again!" he had a furious look on his face and attacked Percy with his son's sword. The son of Poseidon just sidestepped and blocked, pressing Midas' blade away further. Water then exploded through the doors and strangely also from Percy's sword, beginning to flood the room. When the liquid was at their knees, Percy grabbed Dakota by the wrist, dragging her up the stairs to the throne since the bottom of the room was now completely flooded by flowing water from the creek. Up by the throne, Percy panted heavily. Obviously, summoning that water from that far away and some from his sword had drained much of this energy. Midas and Lit were now struggling towards them, Midas still that sword in his hand and his gaze furious. Percy saw that and he inhaled, lifting his hands. The still water began to move again, swirling around the two enemies like a whirlpool. Then Percy pushed his hands forward and the water followed his movements, shooting out into the corridor again and the door shut behind it. Percy then quickly caught his breath and his gaze searched around.

"Quick, help me to lock that door somehow." He said, panting and Dakota just nodded. Together, they managed to block the doors with a golden pillar that had broken down from the impact of the water masses. When the doors finally held, just a little water pouring out through the slits, Percy was sinking to the floor, breathing a sigh of relieve. The daughter of Venus sat next to him and they both glanced at the gigantic throne room before them. A thin layer of water was still on the floor and came from under the door, making the gold look fake. Then Dakota realized that it was. While they were watching, the gold on the room seemed to fade everywhere the water had hit. The floor and pillars turned to white and the furniture became wooden. Most important though: All statues that were touched by the water turned back to humans. Meaning; they had their friends back. Legion one soon back to normal, coughing as if they had swallowed something and then looking around irritated.

"W-what just happened?" Gwen spoke up when Percy and Dakota walked over, Dakota soaked as were her friends. Of course, Percy was again completely spared from being wet and he quietly offered to Dakota he would make a fire so they could warm up. So basically, he left the daughter of Venus to explain to the others, which was fine to her. Apparently, Percy wasn't really hugging the glory of rescuing them, which was strange since Dakota was normally used to Romans bragging about how great they did after a fight. And here was Percy, saving all of their asses on his own and going off to make a fire without a comment about it.

While Percy was gone and Dakota talked, they didn't notice a girl approaching behind them. She had a strange look on her face and in her hand there was a stick, as if she was preparing to attack. When Reyna spotted her, she tilted her head and Dakota followed her gaze. The girl looked a little younger than Gwendolyn was, maybe thirteen or even twelve. She was dressed old fashioned Greek style, with a Chiton and everything. Her hair was dark brown, close to black and braided over her shoulder. She had a scared but wary look on her face and her hands grabbed the stick in her hand as if her life depended on it. Most strange of all though, she was also soaking wet and Dakota now noticed one of the statues on the wall was missing, the only spot on the high pasture were the water had also hit.

_"W-who in Hades are you people?"_ the girl asked in a small but pretended to be confident voice, in words Dakota couldn't understand and raised her stick as a warning.

* * *

_Yeah, a shame Midas is immune to stuff like that (Dakota's power). It could have been so cool if Dakota saved the day. Well, Percy had to do it (again. I just love it when he does that. Sorry, I'm just a simple fangirl T_T I can't help it xP), even though he had no clue what he actually did XD. As I said, I enjoyed writing this, I hope you enjoyed reading it! :)_

**Please tell me what you think! :D  
**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:** The Captain hated him because he was a "Yankee", from New York and he fought in the war on the other side, the Southern States. It was only mentioned once, I'm again impressed how many knew it xD

**_Next Question:_ WHAT EXACT LETTERS ARE IMPRINTED ON JASON'S COIN AND WHAT WOULD THEY MEAN IF YOU SPELL IT WITH THE MODERN ALPHABET?**


	71. Evil Kings just don't change

_March, 26th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_** olegnAiDociN, **PeaceLoveAndCheese, blazerules34, olympusgirl12, Crazydragon111, Llamaswithhats**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

___** olegnAiDociN**_: Happy Birthday! *hugs* I'm sorry to just update today and not yesterday but I wasn't done yesterday so that chapter would have sucked xD I hope you had a wonderful day and see this as belated present! Also, you're the only one that had the question completely right, so feel the dedication to you the most! :3  


_To you others: I was impressed I actually found something you don't know XD. I'll explain down by the next question. Now for the chapter: Percy's perspective again, it tells you who the girl is and some other interesting things. Hope you don't find it boring or something xP  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXXI**

**Percy**

Man, he felt exhausted. When that Lit guy had pushed him back on the wall, he had been hit on the spot on his back that was so vulnerable to him as Lupa had said. Nothing could cut his skin there or he would be dead meat. After that experience today, the teenager seriously thought about wearing armor in public, which was better than being stabbed in the back or something. Anyway, he had been unconscious for a few seconds and woke up to Dakota's voice, obviously scared and Midas', sensing victory. Obviously, as long as he was alive, that wouldn't happen. So he thought about something. That guy had the golden touch, which meant he could turn everything he touched to gold. But how was it reversed? His headache had come back again at this point. Somehow, he once knew about this from somewhere but right now, it just wouldn't come back to him. There was a way though, he knew it. And he somehow also knew that he was at this moment probably the only one able to pull it off.

So yeah, basically he had had no clue what he did when he stepped in front of Midas. That had just been an automatic reaction when he realized Dakota was about to be turned to gold too. Then he quickly came up with the right words to threaten the guy –even though he didn't know where the Titan thing came from- and got the 'antidote' out of him.

As he was now searching for the some firewood, tearing apart some ruined chairs that weren't completely soaked, he thought about why he hadn't turned to gold. Somewhere in the back of his head, a voice said: _"The water is within you."_ He stopped his hand in midair for a second, his green eyes staring at it. _Within me?_ Maybe that was why. Or was it because of his iron skin? No, that was just a weapon thing if he recalled correctly.

His thoughts were interrupted by the suddenly eager tone he heard from over by legion one. His gaze wandered there and he raised an eyebrow as he saw a girl he didn't recognize. Since he had enough wood for a proper fire, he walked over and looked at the girl.

"Who's the new one?" he asked Gwen, who had begun to treat Reyna's wounds but also looked at the newcomer. She shot Percy a smile and then shook her head, clueless.

"I don't know…she just asked something, I didn't understand it though." She explained and Percy nodded. He dropped the firewood and since nobody else was answering –logically-, he talked to the girl.

"Hey, who are you?" he asked and even though the girl had a stick in her hand, he stepped closer to her. She stared at him with wide brown eyes and took a step back. Upon further noticing his features and the look on his face though, she looked more curious than confused. Although she didn't seem to understand him so he repeated his question, this time in Greek. Percy had a sudden feeling about who she might be.

"_I was just asking who you are."_ He said and tilted her head. With those words, the girl quickly lowered the stick, obviously glad she at least understood this time. She looked around more conscious, the fear slowly fading from her face.

"_My name is Zoe, I'm daughter to King Midas."_ She said in perfect ancient Greek and still seemed confused when she saw the others. Percy now realized why. When he looked at the girl closer, she had similar features to him, dark hair, dark eyes, unreadable look on her face that was something between mischievous and friendly. She was Greek, just like him. The only difference was that she obviously didn't understand English. Maybe that was because she was confused by the appearance and language of the Romans. They looked so different to her. And it was also why she had lightened up upon seeing Percy and hearing his voice, as he looked a little similar to her.

"_Zoe?"_ he asked warily, a sudden headache hitting him. He knew that name…but something told him the person he thought of was dead. Dakota now spoke up, seemingly also confused now.

"Wait, I don't understand what you two are talking. Could you translate or something? Who is she?" she asked and Percy quickly nodded, translating into English for the others. Most of them nodded but Dakota's eyes widened in shock.

"What now, he turned his own daughter to gold?" she asked while getting a comb from her backpack to straighten her messy wet hair. Percy himself tried to overcome the trace of memory trying to come back to save it for later. Maybe he could ask her about it when she was less confused. He had to make the translator for now.

"_Well, I'm Percy. I'm a demigod, these guys as well. We have a question: What time period was it last time you recalled?"_ he asked, raising an eyebrow. Because something told him she wasn't quite up to date. He had a strange hunch that he knew how people acted when they were time-confused, tossed in a period they didn't know, put to sleep because of some reason or another. Zoe frowned and stared at him as if that was a completely stupid question.

"_What time period? I-I don't…the last time I recall is when my father had that curse, I asked him about something and he touched me…then I woke up again in another palace, Lit was also gold now and there was a whole in the ceiling, as if the building was struck by lightning. T-then I was turned to gold again after there was some fight…Finally, I gained consciousness here, with my father and brother gone and you guys sitting around here."_ She held her head and Percy nodded. He quickly translated everything Zoe said to the others. Everyone's gaze was now on him or Zoe and he finally sighed.

"_You should probably sit down. Come on, I'll light the fire while we explain."_ He said, the same in English to the others.

And so Percy finally got the fire going and the now shivering Romans together with Zoe sat around it. Their clothes began to dry up slowly but surely while Percy bravely explained about Greece fading (he still wasn't quite comfortable with saying that) and the Roman Empire and how the gods moved to a land called America. Even though she was from three thousand years ago, Zoe seemed to catch up fast. Of course she was still confused and had many questions but when Percy explained how he was a Greek Son of Poseidon and how he just swept her father outside, she suddenly had to smile. Percy thought she might have been furious because he might have killed her father and brother but it didn't seem like it.

"_Actually, thank you. I was shocked when he first turned me to gold but actually, he was quite a bad father. Maybe it's for the best you killed him. And Lit was always picking on me anyway"_ She giggled and held her hands out to the fire even more. After a few minutes of silence and people warming up their clothes and skin, Bobby finally spoke up. He had been pretty quiet all the time, maybe because Percy was the one to save his ass and he didn't like that.

"So, what now? Seems like fish boy here blocked our only exit out of this golden mess. We have to get further east to find that stupid seal." He poked the fire with the stick Zoe had dropped and Percy glared at him for the insult, otherwise shut his mouth. Before Reyna could answer though, his eyes widened in realization.

"Wait a minute…didn't the prophecy say something about the seal being buried in gold? Maybe it's somewhere around here! After all, this whole palace was all golden." He was suddenly excited and even Reyna nodded in though, Hazel as well.

"You may even be right…_behold, in gold thy target it drowned._ It could be buried around his treasure or something. Why didn't I think of that!" Hazel exclaimed as if she was mad at herself not seeing the connection before Percy. He just rolled her eyes at her. Typical daughter of Athena, acting as if only they could come up with smart answers and anybody else was stupid. But he turned to Zoe anyway, his eyebrows raised.

"_Zoe, did your father ever mention a seal of the ocean he possessed? Some kind of treasure he kept somewhere?"_ he asked. Unfortunately, Zoe shook her head.

"_No, he's into selling all his gold but I don't think he keeps much of the stuff since he can always reproduce it anyway."_ She answered and as Percy translated, Hazel nodded her head thoughtfully.

"True. Come on, we're dry now, let's search the palace for some secret chamber or treasure hall. We could at least try it." They stomped out the fire and even though Percy still felt exhausted, he drank some water from his backpack and decided to join the group Zoe was in. They carried Dakota along since Gwen was still glued to Hazel's side because of her wound and Reyna went with Bobby. Percy found it interesting to talk to Zoe, alone the way she acted and spoke was far more familiar than how the Romans behaved. Her steps were more of a dance than a march and she smiled more often, making heavy gestures while expressing herself.

"Wow, carefree girl, isn't she?" Dakota said while Zoe explained some stories she had heard. For Percy it was really interesting. Since she was three thousand years old and all, the stories still sounded fresher and more real, like the one of the original Perseus or Theseus. But when Dakota spoke, he turned his attention away and smiled at her.

"Yeah, but I find it rather…refreshing." He admitted with a full out grin while they searched through some corridors in the back of the palace. They had found a few useful things, one of them being a golden leather thread with which Percy fixed his necklace. He bet that one wouldn't tear so easily. He carefully rearranged all the beads around it until they finally continued. Dakota now raised an eyebrow at him.

"What, you don't like how we act?" she asked, a dangerous undertone in her voice, continuing their previous conversation. Well, that was one of those things that annoyed him about the Romans, nobody understood when he was just kidding.

"Calm down. I'm not insulting your empire or something but you have to admit you guys aren't really the most cheerful ones." He rolled his eyes and pressed his lips together. This time, the daughter of Venus had to smile.

"Okay, you're right there. I guess there's just nothing much to smile and laugh about it a camp where you train for war." She said, raising her eyebrows as if that was perfectly logical. Even though she was one of the more cheerful and open ones, the blonde was after all still a full blooded Roman. Percy frowned, as if that idea didn't really make him happy.

"I…I don't know, but I have this feeling my life wasn't used to be like that. Don't you have…I don't know, the Mercury cabin pranking everybody or a sing-along at campfire? Capture the Flag? Anything that makes it more…entertaining? More like a summer camp?" he asked, playing with his newly fixed necklace. This time, the daughter of Venus had to laugh and looked at him as if he was now officially mad.

"What, entertaining? Summer Camp? No, really, I…never thought of the Castra that way. We're staying year round to learn how to survive in the real world. And even with all that training, you see how that turned out." She sighed and then her face turned thoughtful.

"But about that 'Capture the Flag'…we used to have war games all the time up until the point Saturn's minions used it to set us up and got many of us killed. Since then, Lupa never really reinvented them somehow…it was kinda fun to do that, even though you could get seriously hurt in it." Her blue eyes went off into the distance dreamily and Percy had to smile. At least something. Maybe he could ask Lupa about the war games when they came back. If they did, that was. But up until now, things didn't seem so bad. He had the feeling he had done far worse.

Finally, when nothing was found, they all met up again in the throne room. Hazel was obviously frustrated about their loss of results and had her thinking face on, sitting alone in the corner while the others discussed what to do next. Reyna suggested since they didn't find anything, they should concentrate on getting out of here. After all, they had been warned to avert the ground and an underground palace maybe wasn't the best idea. This was confirmed from that feeling Percy got, like some force was trying to overpower the place and they wouldn't be save much longer. When the doors didn't hold back the water any more, they could be in even greater trouble but there was also no way they could make it back through the corridor with the Minotaur and maybe even Midas and Lit and most of all those traps and pipes. They didn't say it, but he knew the others were exhausted. Being turned to gold probably wasn't a pleasant experience. So fighting should probably be prevented as much as possible. Finally, it was Zoe who had the idea.

"_What about another way out? My father isn't the type of king to only have one exit where all the traps are. He would have a secret passage for him to escape through in emergency situations. Somewhere in the back."_ She explained and Percy quickly translated. They soon decided to go for it, since there wasn't much of a choice. Zoe went straight for the throne and tried out some golden spots. In the end, she really found something and managed a wide smile.

"_He didn't change in those three thousand years."_ She stated when they suddenly felt rumbling and saw the wall open right behind them in the closest wall. It had been invisible up until now but there was a stairway behind it and fade light making their way down.

"_Great, Zoe! Now let's get out of here before this palace decides to collapse or something."_ Percy concluded and the others quickly agreed, running up the steps to freedom again. Little did they know what would await them up in the broad daylight...

* * *

_Yay! Finally out of there xP The palace wasn't save any more anyway XD. A few minutes more and they would have experiences the same as the Greeks in the Basilisk Cave. And btw, yes, Percy was immune because he has basically flowing water within himself, like he learned in the fourth book (partly the painful way). That's why I wanted Midas to meet up, he's his ultimate enemy :D I just loved that thought XD. Gaea was probably mad at him for messing up with Jason and the Hunters ^^. _

**Please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:** The Letters are **IVLIVS**. And in the modern Alphabet, that would be **JULIUS**. Because the Romans did have neither J nor U. So U=V and I=J. Can also be seen at the writing on Jesus' crucifix (INRI= Jesus of Nazared, Rex (King) of the Judes, roughtly translated). It says Julius because the battle axe was a sign for a war he won for Rome and so the Axe with the letters is on one side and Julius Caesar's face is on the other :)  
Okay, now _I_ really feel like a Nerd XD I just happened to read about it a couple of days ago xP

**_Next Question:_ WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE LITTLE GIRL THAT TAKES ALL THE WEAPONS OF THE ROMANS BEFORE THEY ENTER NEW ROME? **(small note: This is of course about the actual SoN book XD)


	72. First Step in a new World

_March, 31th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_Maddie Doe, Olympusgirl12, impatientkid, iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, LlamaswitHats, Crazydragon111, PeaceLoveAndCheese, __olegnAiDociN**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Aaaah yeah, you guys are really cool. Actually, you brought me an extremely cool idea :D I thank you very much, impatientkid and PeaceLoveAndCheese :). When the time comes, I'll tell you what idea was brought to my mind due to your review 8D. I think you're going to love it :)._

_About the chapter: This time, it's from Zoe's point of view. I just enjoyed writing it this way since it's fresh and new and she's probably so confused. Since she's Greek, this time everything that is written normally is Greek and everything that's **italic is in fact English**. So the other way around. Don't you get confused now! ;P  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXXII**

**Zoe**

Did she cope everything she experienced right now? No, not really. It was just too much and she was impressed she didn't have a mental breakdown. Maybe it was because she dealed with her mad father for so long that she was able to make it through. When she had woken up, everything had been so fussy. The building was almost the same as it was when she had been turned to gold in Greece. But there were no windows and the floor as well as her clothes were completely wet. Then there were those young adults sitting on the floor in the middle of the throne room. They were also completely drained with water but somehow they looked different from most people she had seen. Three of them had really bright hair and they all had faces that she couldn't place, not on any family or country she knew or ever heard of.

Carefully, she stepped closer to them through the shadows, noticing their language was also one she had never heard before. She had been scared by then. People she didn't know occupying her father's throne room, her family nowhere to be seen and these people even talked in a language she didn't know. In panic, she grabbed for a stick and wanted to attack them.

However, that was the moment Percy stepped in. Or how he later admitted, Perseus. He looked like someone she might have been able to place, he barely reminded her of a man she had once met at the docs with the big ships of the traders. He had been selling fish and when Zoe went to get some for the servants –because she was mainly the one that cared for them when her father ignored them- he had given her an extra one and winked at her, as if knowing exactly what it was for. Percy's eyes had the same shade of green, she would never forget this intense glare they had to them. And even before he did anything, his appearance let her relax her muscles. She just saw him for a second but she already knew that he wasn't a threat for her, that she could maybe even trust him.

Her assumptions were proven right when Percy talked in her language, Greek. In that brief moment, she could have hugged him, just knowing she had a connection made her feel so much better. So she listened to what he explained, even if it sank in only much later.

Right now, they were finally stepping out into the daylight and her eyes were really not used to the sunlight any more so she needed a few moments to see properly. When the girl then looked around, she found herself in a forest and even though it was clearly one, the trees and other plants were nothing like the ones she knew from back home.

"Where are we? It's so cold…" she asked Percy and raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be caught in a discussion with the girl called Reyna, daughter of Ares –or what did they call him? Mars?- but quickly changed his attention to her since they both seemed somehow annoyed with each other.

"Oh, this is a forest somewhere near San Francisco, that's a city in the far east of the United States in the state called California. It's one of the warmer states so…yeah, we should probably get you a jacket or something.." he looked over her clothes and frowned, obviously worried. She herself looked down and noticed that she was really dressed pretty lightly compared to the others, only her Chiton and Sandals on. The Roman soldiers were all wearing something they called a "jacket" in their language, a somehow high tech thing that kept them warm even though it was windy and obviously was also protecting from rain. Zoe wondered what other technologies she had missed. Apparently, a lot. She also felt that her body wasn't in the best shape. A little sweaty but still cold, she gladly accepted the purple sweater the girl named Dakota offered her. She was seriously pretty and had introduced herself as a daughter of Venus, which was supposedly Aphrodite. Figured. She seemed to be a little nicer than the others, who were sometimes shooting her glances she wasn't able to interpret. Did she do something wrong? So when they also handed her some sockets for her feet, Percy grabbed her shoulder and pulled her aside. Somehow, Zoe was still fascinated by his eyes. By then, she was sure the man at the dock had been Poseidon himself so she was now able to look into Perseus eyes and just notice the similarity he had with his father. But the gaze he now shot her was serious so she raised an eyebrow in question.

"Is there a problem? Am I being a hindrance?" she asked. It was logical after all. They were all older, they seemed to be on some kind of journey and she was only twelve years old, had no clue of where she was and what to do, plus, didn't speak their language. Another part she didn't quite get. How was Percy able to understand her and speak Greek when the others weren't? But the son of Poseidon just quickly shook his head.

"No, no, Zoe. That's not it. Well, Reyna thinks so to be honest but I…" he paused, sighing. "We can't just leave you here, right? You can't even speak English, how are you supposed to survive? So even though she's really stubborn, she agreed to let you stay with us for now." He said, looking over at the Reyna girl with a slight glare. Then he returned to look at her. "You just have to promise me something. Look, we're on a pretty dangerous mission right now, it's kinda difficult to keep everyone safe and having you along could be even more dangerous, especially for you. So I was thinking…" he lunged for his backpack and got out something that looked like a knife wrapped in a pretty leather sheath. The teenager pulled out the knife and it shimmered golden in the light that hit through the trees. Zoe gasped, it looked quite beautiful but also deadly. Then she gazed up at Percy, a questioning look on her face and a little fear creeping up her stomach. She wanted to step back.

"What, you want to kill me so you can go on with your journey?" she asked, assuming a fighting stance to defend herself though from what she saw from Percy's athletic body, she would probably be dead within a second. But despite her fears, he just stared at her blankly like she was nuts and then laughed.

"What? No! I wanted you to have it so you can defend yourself. Since you're kinda the sister of that sword fighting guy, I figured you might be able to fight a little, am I right? So since I don't use this 'Pugio' anyway, you can gladly have it. I'm fine with my sword. Still, promise me to stay as far away from the threat as possible." Zoe slowly nodded, completely bewildered and took the blade from Percy. She carefully fastened her belt around her waist and put the sheath of the knife into it so she could pull it out at any time. Then she smiled at Percy.

"Of course I can. I'm not as good as my brother of course but sometimes, I tended to sneak into his lessons even though as a 'princess' I had other stuff to do…theoretically." She grinned and then swirled around playfully, making her dress fly in the cold winter air. Although she still had her Chiton on, she now felt much better with the items she was given. The sockets in sandals did indeed look ridiculous but Percy promised her they would find something for her to wear in the next town.

So they kept going, Percy still walking next to her. The other girl with brown-red hair dropped back and spoke to him. Even though the two of them seemed to not understand each other, they finally agreed on something and the girl named Hazel, daughter of Athena took a step on the other side of Zoe so they were on either side of her.

"So, Hazel suggested we could try to teach you our language, English. It's spoken all around here and since we're soon hitting civilization, it would probably be good if you at least understood something. She's going through the grammar and I'll translate if necessary." He said and Zoe slowly nodded. It was now around the middle of the day and Hazel also showed her a kind of time device they used to read what time of the day it was. She explained the today calendar and how they expressed themselves, what they would wear normally and she also explained how mythology changed. On that, Percy would jump in on occasions and explain things about the different names of the gods and where the entrance to the underworld was and so on. As far as Zoe understood, that knowledge was new to Hazel. She had looked at him quizzically.

_"Wait, how do you know? You've been there?"_ she asked. Zoe didn't understand what she said but Percy shook his head, frowning.

_"I guess…not only once."_

_"So, you're actually dead and revived or what? That's ridiculous! I know there are strange things reviving but why would anyone want to revive a Greek demigod?"_ she asked, disgust on her face.

_"Look, I'm not dead nor was I ever, okay? And I'm very sorry I'm here, I could have refrained from saving your ass today and just let you stay gold then!"_ Percy countered and glared at her with crossed arms, which shut her up but also ended Zoe's lessons of English for now since Hazel walked away, her grey eyes staring daggers at Percy.

"What'd she say?" Zoe asked, looking at Percy worriedly. The son of Poseidon seemed to have even more worries than herself since his face looked kind of in pain.

"It's nothing…Just…You see, I lost my memories some time ago. In fact, they were stolen. And since I'm the only Greek demigod these Romans know, they're trying to find out where the heck I'm coming from. Hazel here isn't quite fond of me, you could say. No, that's not right, she hates my guts. And now that I said I know where the Underworld entrance is, she assumed I might come from there. I know she's suspecting me to be send from the enemy or something, even if we don't really know who that even is! Argh, and now there's my headache again!" he cursed and rubbed his temples, his expression extremely frustrated. The daughter of Midas gazed at him worriedly. Stolen memories? Why would anyone do that? And why would that girl hate Percy? As far as she had seen it today, he was a really nice guy who cared for the people around him, even for the daughter of his enemy. From what she knew about people in her days, her relation to him would have meant the death treatment for her even if she had nothing to do with what her father did. But the son of Poseidon just took her with them and even offered her a weapon for self-defense. And that Hazel assumed he was working for the enemy? Well maybe Zoe wasn't as old and wise as her but she was certainly sure she had enough knowledge of humans that she knew Percy could never do that. He was more the kind of guy that did everything for his friends and comrades, even if it meant his own destruction. The typical hero. Wait, how could she even know, she just met him today! Still, it was this kind of hunch…

_"Hey, you alright?" _a girl with short hair walked back to them. She was holding her side and looking at Percy with worry. But the teenager just shook his head, grinning.

_"Shouldn't you be more concerned about yourself, Gwen? You're still injured."_ But the blonde just waved his words away with her hand, smiling kindly.

_"It's alright. I ate a bit more Ambrosia, I should be fine soon. So what's up, your head again?" _she asked. Now that Zoe thought about it, she was said to be a daughter of Apollo. The god of medicine? Maybe she was like the medic of the team. There was a bloody gab in her jacket though so she was probably injured in the journey. Zoe just hoped that it wasn't her brother or father, that would just be awkward. Knowing her luck though, it was somehow his fault.

Soon, they reached some kind of road that was really solid and black. Percy said it was called asphalt and that nearly every street now was made of that stuff to make their vehicles run the roads more stable. Just in that second, such a "vehicle" ran past them so fast, Zoe was only able to see it as a mere blur.

"That was your vehicle? Seriously? It goes faster than the wind! What In Hades…" she mumbled but Percy only grinned at her bewildered face. When walking along with the road in hopes to reach a town soon, they first reached some gigantic lake after the forest turned into desert like shapes for some parts. They climbed over the side of the road and stepped down to the water, refreshing themselves. Along the way, Zoe had noticed how very tired and worn out Percy looked. She wondered how he was even able to stand, let alone walk in the fast pace Reyna was marching in. She had also assumed that maybe he had been the one who summoned the water in the throne room and she then understood why exactly he was so tired. Next to that, this memory thing was seemingly still nagging on his mind a lot. Now that they reached the water, he simply put his hands into it, kneeling down to it and all of a sudden, his face seemed to have lost days of worry and his eyes shone with more life. He washed his face and breathed out a sigh of relieve.

"Wow, that was good." He mumbled and then gazed over the water.

_"Now what, we walk around it?"_ Dakota asked, motioning around the lake so Zoe assumed she was asking if they should walk around it. The others like Reyna and Hazel seemed to think about it but Percy simply shook his head.

_"No wait. Do you guys even know where we are? I think we should ask the Naiads what's up."_ He said, lifting his head. Reyna raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, glaring at the son of Poseidon. Zoe understood the name of the river spirits from what he said and guessed he wanted to communicate with them. The twelve year old tilted her head in thought. The idea was great but she only knew that normally, Naiads weren't really talkative to humans. So what was he up to?

_"Well yeah, we could try that but as far as I know, they normally don't really _talk _to people very often. I say we walk around and search for the next town so we can get a train west or something."_ The daughter of Ares said and rolled her eyes. But then, Percy just shrugged and grinned, flexing his shoulders.

_"Well, they do talk to me."_ He commented and then motioned to the lake. _"I'll go have a talk, you guys wait here. I'll be fine."_ The last comment was directed at Dakota, who had opened her mouth to protest. Then Percy looked around to check out if there were other humans who could watch and then he simply walked into the water with his clothes still on, stepping deeper and deeper until his head was under and he was left without a trace despite slight curls on top of the water who signaled where the son of Poseidon had gone under.

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, not really a cliffy but from here on it has to be Percy's point of view to make any sense XD. I hope you're not too bored by Zoe, there's going to be a scene where Percy remembers from from the actual Zoe he knew, no worries. But that requires some settling down and for now, they need to reach the next town safely. SO! I had fun writing, you had fun reading? And yeah, Zoe met Poseidon. Thought it was amusing xP._

**Please tell me what you think! :3**

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

**Answer of the last Quiz:** Yes, her name was Julia. I'm fascinated how many knew that xD.

**_Next Question:_ WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE GODDESS THAT PERCY TOLD TO WATCH HIS BIKE? **(yes, bike. From "The last Olympian")**  
**


	73. Memories of White Gold

_April, 4th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ SmilingSim, impatientkid, Emories, blue-skies-green-eyes, iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, __sophie696, Crazydragon111, NeptuneRox, anon, LlamasWitHats**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Man, I'm SO tired and SO ready to drop...Really, I'm sorry there weren't two chapters this weekend, I guess this is the missing one! University started again and this summer semester is sure going to get rough xP. I may have a chance to visit New York (gods, I still can't quite believe it :D) but it's so freaking expensive...you wouldn't believe me if I told you o.o". Anyway! I just finished this chapter and it's the middle of the night so I'm pretty sure that I'll just fall into a coma as soon as I hit the mattress xD. So to answer impatiendkid's question about what happened to 2 chapters a weekend: University happened. I'll try to keep it up though :)_

_This weekend is Easter so I'll be home. Hope I'll have more time to write there :).  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXIII**

**Percy**

The voices of his friends echoed in his ears until his head went completely under water. Suddenly in complete silence, he sighed, relieved. His nose breathed in the fresh water and he willed a current to take him deeper into the depth of the lake. Over his head, he could feel several boats and canoes floating on the surface, just a few though, after all it was winter. Probably fishers.

"Percy Jackson…" a voice sounded several feet to his right and he turned just to see two Naiads swimming towards him. Their yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dark water and they stared at him in a way he couldn't quite interpret. Since he was unsure what exactly to do about this greeting, he bowed his head and smiled at them.

"Yes, I'm glad you let me visit your lake, Limnades." He said. The word for the lake Naiads popped into his head just in time. Thankfully, you'd say because the said Naiads seemed to be far more friendly with him after they heard him speak. They quickly agreed on helping him and told him that they were at a lake that was called the Lake Tahoe and was just at the corner of the protected forest east of San Francisco. So when everything was settled, he returned to the beach he went under water, stepped out of the lake without noticing the others stare at him because of course again, he was still dry.

"_How for Zeus' sake..."_ Zoe began, she looked pale and ready to pass out. Maybe because she finally seemed to realize just how much time had passed since the others had sit down and Dakota had shared some of her equipment with her, something like a flashlight or plastic boxes had to be completely new and strange for her. Plus, the boats on the lake probably didn't really look like the once she knew from three thousand years ago. Man, he wondered how she was still conscious and taking everything in. She was so young, this had to be extremely hard. So he tried to distract her by smiling reassuringly.

"Yeah, that comes with my father's powers. Sorry to startle you." He then changed to English and turned to Reyna. "As I told you, the Naiads listened to me and agreed on taking us over to the other side of the lake. When we go from there, we'll soon reach a town called Carson City. I'm sure from there we can figure something out to transport us west." He said and Reyna nodded, as if she was not really present and thinking about something, which was so totally unlike her that Percy stared at her for a second and raised his eyebrows. But he was soon interrupted by Hazel, who seemed fairly frustrated. Plus, she hadn't gotten over his little outburst yet as it seemed, staring at him with her angry grey eyes.

"Yes, but WHERE west, oh all-knowing powerful fish face? New York perhaps! Then we could as well all drown ourselves right here and get it over with!" she almost yelled, swinging her hands around in his direction. That did it. He couldn't believe she was doing this again. How could one person be so impossible?

"I can't believe you're still onto this! I_ told _you, New York is not dangerous!" he balled his fists and glared at her with the same intense stare in his eyes. He knew that he had met similar eyes in fights many times before. Sometimes harmless quarrels but sometimes deadly serious arguments with both parties almost going for the others throat. And he was also sure that even though now his memories of her were dim, it had been Annabeth he had fought with. She had eyes that were just like Hazel's. Still, in his memory, they were even more intense and she had even more willpower and intelligence behind it than the daughter of Minerva. He was not calling her dumb or anything, it was just that Percy wasn't intimidated by her gaze at all, the son of Poseidon had met worse and withstood worse. Yes, maybe also backed down from Annabeth at times…strike that, very often, but still. He wouldn't just give up because little miss super wise right here thought so. He would find Annabeth and the rest of his friends, whoever they were. He had dim pictures but still no names and even if some of them because clearer during his headache phases, he still couldn't see the whole picture. Where he came from, where he had been trained and stuff like that. One thing was sure though: Whatever it was, it was near New York and that was why he really wanted to head there. Hazel still wasn't convinced though and she already opened her mouth to shout back at him when Reyna cut her off.

"Silence. Both of you. The Naiads are here, now get in the freaking boat and lets get over that ridiculous lake. I know we are all tired of this and want to rest but as soon as we find a train, we'll all take a nice little nap. Somehow, we will find that stupid gold so please, .up." she concluded and motioned for them to enter the boat that had just floated over to them without someone steering it. The Naiads waved at Percy and smiled, then disappeared into the deep water after the son of Poseidon waved back. Bobby frowned.

"Great, now how do we get that thing over there, I don't know how to steer a thing like that." He said and looked at the boat, a disgusted expression on his face. Percy frowned and Zoe did as well.

"What, you have something against boats?" Percy asked and Zoe nodded, as if she was going to ask exactly that question as well. Hazel laughed out loud and then shook her head.

"By now you should know that Romans aren't really fond of the sea. Rome didn't even have a proper Navi, at least not a very big one." She glared at him some more and then eyed the boat with an expression that wasn't complete disgust but also fear. Styx, he had completely forgotten, Hazel was aquafobic, wasn't she? No wonder she was so pissed at him, he had her sucked wet and then even rubbed it in her face that he saved her with that. And now she had to go on that boat…Suddenly, he felt sorry for her and sighed.

"Alright. Just get on, I got this." He said and even though they were all not really tempted by the thought, they climbed into the boat. Actually though, Zoe seemed pretty happy. She smiled at him and let Percy take her hand to help her aboard.

"_Thanks. This is actually really pretty. This kind of boat looks nothing like what I used to see at the docks. It may actually hold out in the water."_ She giggled and sat down next to Dakota. Those two seemed to get along pretty well, Gwen was also in the team. It was strange how those two seemed to adapt more to Zoe as well as to him while the others sat on the other side of the boat and just shot the little girl a few irritated stares. Except Reyna…she still seemed in thought for some reason. Then Percy remembered how Lit and Midas had talked about Jason and he wondered if that was what she was thinking about. Still, he caught her staring at him from time to time and it kind of creeped him out.

With his mind, he now brought the boat to life though he pretended to push the buttons. He had probably freaked them out enough for a day, didn't have to add strange mind tricks he could do with a motorboat. Zoe was right, the conveyance was actually pretty. It was pure white with a little blue wave on the side and even though it seemed pretty old, it was still working fairly well. So when the engine roared to life, they were quickly making their way across the water and this gave Percy time to think and stare at the little waves they produced. He could feel the body of water underneath them and also that there weren't any boats or hindrances nearby so it was completely fine for him to wander off with his thoughts.

Here on top of the water, he felt secure. All that time down there with all that gold around that seemed to want to suppress his powers and all that earth around him, he had almost felt their opponent, that lady from the mud back in the forest. Who was she? His mind was racing for a goddess that was supposed to be guarding earth or something but he didn't remember any. The only related thing he could come up with was Demeter, the goddess of Agriculture that technically grew in the earth. Oh and Hades. But he was male. Definitely male. Plus, he got the feeling that he had met bot gods and that this wasn't the answer to neither their search nor prophecy. Then there was Zoe…she seemed to take this in so well. Even when they had taught her English, she seemed to absorb it like a sponge. And right now, even if she was just twelve years old, she wasn't hyper or freaked out by what she saw. Yes, she looked pale and all but otherwise, she seemed pretty fine, sitting there with his two best friends he could make at the Castra and talked about what changed since she was turned into a gold statue. Which was technically her whole world. Still, she took it in so calmly and Percy wondered how she could do that. He had lost his memory and even though his knowledge of the world was still the same, inside, he freaked out completely. His desire to just go and meet Annabeth again was greater with every minute he spent away from her and now that it was quiet, other scenes also popped into his mind. The face of a girl who could barely be fourteen but had an unnatural glow around her appeared before him. In his mind, she was obviously in pain and somehow, she still seemed at piece. Another glowing girl was leaning over her with concern in her eyes but also a knowing expression, as if she knew what would come.

_Zoë Nightshade…_

"…_Do you still have the sword, Percy?" she looked away from another girl that knelt next to her, black spiky hair and blue eyes filled with bitter tears. But he didn't have time to concentrate on her since he felt himself pulling out his pen and the girl on the floor, Zoë, took it in hand, closing her hand around it._

"_You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like…like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword." Then she shuddered and his memory faded._

The present Percy shook his head quickly. Where had that come from? So this had been the Zoe he knew before…no wonder the name seemed familiar. They seemed to have been close before she obviously died for a reason he couldn't recall right now. At least that riddle was solved now. But what about the other ones? What about the prophecy? The second line was the start or his worries (after all, the first was pretty obvious). What gold? They had been in Midas palace and there hadn't been anything like a seal. And there had been a lot of gold down there. His thoughts again wandered away on their own and he thought about Annabeth again and how her grey eyes would sparkle when she was mad or when she pretended to be and in fact was amused by something stupid he said.

"_You know what, forget it." The daughter of Athena glared at him with exactly those eyes. She had to be around thirteen or fourteen and they were sitting at the same beach as last time, the blonde had a book in her lap but her attention was on Percy since they had obviously been arguing about something._

"_What? I'm just saying, if the people of Athens would have been reasonable, the salt water spring would have been much better! Salt is a very important ingredient for many-" but the son of Poseidon was interrupted again._

"_Percy, I said forget it! We had this topic before, remember? It happened three thousand years ago, how am I supposed to change it? Plus, yes, salt was sometimes called the white gold in some areas but that doesn't mean the people of Athens can't like Olives! And if my mother wanted to, I'm sure she would have come up with something more pleasing…" with that, she pursed her lips and went back to reading her book, leaving Percy with an open mouth, not sure what to counter on that._

Again, he snapped out of it with a small smile. Yeah, that was exactly what he meant. What he just remembered had to be one of those arguments he was thinking about. Still, his fights with Hazel were different.

_Wait a minute…_

Suddenly, his hands tensed around the wheel of the boat. White gold…salt was once called the white gold. And he, a son of the Sea god was given this quest. Their target was drowned in gold, _drowned_! Something you did in water…Why hadn't he seen it? This was completely logical!

He spun the wheel around, his hands trembling with excitement. He completely forgot about the steering and therefore, they almost dropped out of the boat. Just in time, he was able to rearrange their course and then turn around, ignoring their shocked expression as the boat just kept going without any hindrance.

"Guys, I've got it! I know where we can find that seal! Gods on Olympus, why hadn't I realized before…" so he explained what he reasoned. Soon enough, they were all arguing about where that could be. Salt water in the United States. Probably not the ocean. Why not? 'Cause Hazel thought that was too obvious and that it was illogical to send them across the whole states just to reach another ocean. Finally, Percy was the one to come up with the idea of Salt Lakes. There were several he could think of but the closest and biggest he knew for the time being was the one that felt the most logical in his head. The others quickly agreed. After all, there wasn't really much choice and Hazel accepted anything that didn't have 'New' or 'York' in it.

So with a smile on his face, Percy returned to the head of the boat. He properly landed them on the next dock and they got off, almost sprinting to the next town to get a bus to the bigger city –Reno- from where there was certainly a train headed for their new destination:

Salt Lake City.

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah, that's it. I actually thought that was totally obvious but oh well. I think this way I kept the tension up...did I? Hope Percy's reasoning is not too illogical...I didn't know another way to make him think of salt as white gold other than Annabeth lecturing him about it XD. By the way, guys...From what I researched, are there really that little train stations in the USA? I now begin to understand why people say that the German railways are good...^^" (In Germany, you can get to every freaking little town by train. I searched for a connection between Carson City and Salt Lake City but Carson City doesn't even have a station according to Google...I was confused, I'm not used to this. XD) Not that I'm saying Germany's better (actually, the service is horrible here XD) but I was still quite shocked xP. Btw, if I get something wrong about America, please tell me. This is all research I did on my own through the internet, mistakes are already foreseen ^^"._

**Sorry for the long comment, I had to get this out of my head. Now I'm going to sleep. Please tell me what you think! :3**

**.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**

**Answer of the last Quiz:** Pomona/Pompona (both right), Roman goddess of plenty (also trees, gardens and Orchards) was right! :)

**_Next Question:_ ****ON WHAT BUILDING DOES BLACKJACK LAND WHEN DIONYSUS TRIES TO HOLD HIM AND PERCY BACK FROM JOINING THE QUEST TO SAVE ARTEMIS/ANNABETH?  
**


	74. Alleviating Trainride

_April, 6th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ olegnAiDociN, impatientkid, blue-skies-green-eyes, saveme57, PeaceLoveAndCheese, Crazydragon111, LlamasWitHats, redandwhitetigers **  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

Oh gods, this turned out longer than I thought XD As LlamasWitHats suggested, I made a Reyna POV again since she really has to catch up on a few things and is a very important character to my story that I tend to ignore at times. I've done too much Percy anyway xD (wait, there's too much Percy? Okay, fangirl shutting up now..). So here are some changes now ^^.

And btw, about trains again: In Germany, most people do have a car, don't get me wrong xD. For long distances though, it's more comforting and also cheaper to take the train and since you can get everywhere by train and don't have to pay attention to driving all the time (and can read a book for example xD), it's actually really cool ^^. That's why I was wondering why it's not used so often xP. But yeah, it's plausible that you fly a lot with those distances. The only flight that would be reasonable in Germany would be from Hamburg to Munich and it's still barely a one hour flight XD.

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXIV**

**Reyna**

Riding a train wasn't really Reyna's kind of thing. Sitting with the back to the driving direction made her sick in the stomach. However, she would never admit that to her fellow soldiers so she just sat there and kept her mouth shut, gazing out the window in hope that her sickness would get better when she saw the landscape fly by. Bobby was staying by her side the whole time from Reno on, sitting next to her without saying a word. Hazel was somewhere else where it was quieter, she seemed in one of these thinking phases where she wanted to be alone. No wonder, Percy had taken her through her fear of water twice a day and she probably wanted to refrain from going on everybodys nerves by snapping at him again. The others on the other hand seemed to amuse themselves pretty well. Percy gave off a fairly good teacher in English to Zoe though mostly, Gwen did all the work because the son of Poseidon just drifted off in his explanations of the modern world. Dakota was there too, they were occupying the other seat for four people (the second one was her, Hazel and Bobby) and laughed most of the time.

Inside of her, there were boiling up really mixed feelings since this mission started. Right now, she was torn between joining them and shouting at them to be quiet. Ever since Percy appeared at the Castra, her whole life seemed to change and she had yet to determine if it was for the good or for the bad. Another thing to find out for herself was if she should or could even blame the teenager for it. He hadn't come to their Castra on purpose, Lupa had sent him there and Reyna somehow sensed that Juno, the queen of the Gods had something to do with it as well. She wondered what exactly that was and why in Hades Percy Jackson was such an important demigod. That had been on her mind since the day he had joined their forces and she had challenged him and lost. She of all people had lost at sword fighting. Not that she didn't train enough every single second she had but now she was beaten by somebody that just got there. First after that, her mood had been eager to find out more about Percy and why he was there when Jason was lost. She had been certain they had something in common and maybe their (dis)appearances even had something to do with each other. Gwen had even said it, the Oracle said that somebody similar to Jason would appear and then she had recognized Percy to be the one.

So when she discovered that he was Greek, why had she been so angry? Until that moment, the guy had seriously grown onto her. He was beginning to work better at teamwork, followed her orders relatively voluntarily and even helped her out with sword fighting lessons, teaching parts of that strange fighting style he possessed. Not that she was falling for him or something. No, never would she fall in love with somebody as goofy, open and disrespectful as this guy. But the daughter of Mars certainly had to admit that his attitude had something refreshing to it. He was certainly different than the other guys at the Castra, until the second fight with that monster army, she had been relatively sure that she could still change him and he could maybe even be a good soldier with better attributes than some others. Yes, even though Lupa had said it was impossible to change him, tame him, she had still hoped for it.

Then he had admit that he was Greek and she couldn't believe it. This whole time…how long had he known? How long, without telling her? When they met, she had asked if he would tell her when he knew something else. And now that came out. It wasn't even something minor that she could just see over, it was something that changed their whole life, changed her perspective of the world.

Since when were there Greek demigods?

Never in her life had she heard of any, not even rumors. So when Percy said it, she couldn't stop thinking. And that had to be something else for a daughter of Mars. That night, she hadn't slept at all. Out of anger, she had put Percy into that cell in the basement, just to get him out of sight. Every time she saw his far too handsome face, she had to think about just how different he was and if he really was Greek, what that would mean. It could mean that she had to kill him. Back in the Roman days, the Greeks hadn't exactly been their friends. What if Percy was a spy for the enemy? What if he was being used without knowing it? She had let him walk free even though she had sensed he was different and there had been so many signs… The brunette blamed herself that he had come so far without even being questioned once. So even though he might have even become a friend during his stay, she convinced herself that she could not allow herself to grow closer to him, she even had to keep as far as she could away from him.

But even though she tried to explain her point to the others, Dakota and Gwen wouldn't believe her. Gwen didn't exactly oppose her, that wasn't her style, but she spent most of her free time with the Oracle and Reyna concluded that she was searching for evidence to prove Percy innocent. Dakota was on a rampage though. Reyna was well aware that she had thrown an eye on the son of Poseidon. From her point of view, it was even understandable. If she imagined herself being a girly girl for once, that guy was probably one of the first choices. He was powerful, good looking, modest and even funny (a tribute little guys at the Castra possessed). Okay, she would stop with the compliments now. Anyway, when she had let Dakotas sisters go down to him for watch, she had been aware that Dakota was the one responsible for it. She had been sick of being strict though. That day Percy had been in prison had been hard on herself as well. She had battled with herself if she could trust him, if she should just let him be killed or if it was even a proper decision to send him elsewhere, just drop him off into the wild outside the Castra. Lupa wouldn't let her take a move though. She didn't say why but she said that Percy was not to be harmed.

Back then, she hadn't understood. Lupa had always been the one most concerned about the Castra and its well being. Why was she attracted to that boy when she was Greek, a people they didn't like, even considered weak. Yes, weak…Percy wasn't weak. There were many bad things about him but he certainly wasn't weak at all. Still, even if he was different from what he had imagined a Greek to be like, she still was mad at him. While he spent time in their Camp, Lupa had personally trained him, made him even stronger than he already was and that attention got her even angrier than his betrayal did.

So when he burst out of his prison, she had tried to ignore him, be sour towards him as well as she could. It had all worked out properly, until he had decided to save her life. Seriously, what was with this guy? While they were on this quest, he had proved to possess the reflexes of a demon and the protection instincts of a mother wolf. He had saved her life multiple times and every single time he hadn't even thought about receiving a thank you or an apology from her. She had treated him like dirt on purpose and he just ignored it and behaved as if they had never been angry at each other.

When they had run into Midas and that ass had turned her friends to gold, she had thought it was completely over. Then she had awoken and Dakota had told her Percy had saved all of them in the blink of an eye. Reyna on the other hand could tell that the son of Poseidon was exhausted and also deep in thought at times, especially on that boat. They had met that girl, Zoe, and Reyna wasn't so sure about her first. She only spoke _Greek_ of all languages! So basically, Percy was the only one to understand her and communicate with her properly. They could talk about anything while the others were present, they could even plot something. Not that she thought that, it was maybe just her natural paranoia that was telling her to think that way. Or the things Hazel actually spoke out that went into that direction. Plus, Zoe was only twelve. She would slow them down and bring them into severe danger. The pack was only as strong as its weakest link. Lupa had taught then that. Gwen was already hurt and therefore their weakest link. If that girl also joined them, Reyna had dark future visions for them. Nevertheless, Percy had insisted. His reasoning wasn't even that bad. He promised to give her his Pugio for defense and they couldn't leave a little girl in the wilderness after all. That was all correct but she was still tensed when he spoke to her about it, giving her the feeling that he had no idea what she went through at the moment. And that was probably it, he really had no idea. Should that make her angry? No, she should probably ignore it.

There wasn't only Percy on her mind of course. The matter of Jason was still chasing her in every waking moment as well as in her sleep. And her mind was still trying to figure out how the two were connected. Obviously, since she was being such a scumbag towards him, Percy couldn't really help her with the matter and so she had to stick with Hazel, who had no clue as well, which pretty much bugged the Hades out of her since she hated not to know something. When Midas had mentioned Jason, she had been so relieved. He was alive. That was all that mattered at that moment. He was alive, she had imagined so many worst case scenarios when he was gone and now at least she knew he was still out there somewhere and they could find him. The daughter of Mars knew that the others were missing him too, she could tell from their terrible mood towards Percy that they didn't accept him as a replacement or whatever he was supposed to be. Especially Hazel and Bobby of course, Gwen didn't know Jason for that long and ever since Dakota had been rejected by him, she had looked for somebody else anyway. Plus, Percy did have that kind of aura that made you trust him. It was what had her captured those first days as well and what kept her from killing him. Not that she could anyway, with that stupid skin of his. But if Jason wasn't with them and he hadn't been alone to fight Midas…who had he been with? There was something big going on here and this Percy Jackson had something to do with it. If he was a Greek demigod, what if there were more of him? Hazel had come up with that idea one night and it had given Reyna a shiver down her spine. A whole army of Greeks..what would they do if they would come for their Castra and they would be too vulnerable because of this other big enemy, that dirt woman? And what if these Greeks helped her? That was just a nightmare come true. Greeks were unpredictable and undependable, another reason why she had wanted to keep Percy inside of the Castra where he could be watched. Who knew what he would do once they got into the wild, once he had a chance to contact someone. All of that had proven to be her own paranoia by now. She should probably calm down but it wasn't that easy. Anger was within her blood sometimes and it was hard to control once she formed a rage that connected with a certain person.

So when they were finally on this train to where Percy's reasoning had taken them, the daughter of Mars sighed. She closed her brown eyes and rubbed her temples. Then she took a deep breath and finally stood, startling Bobby, who had been close to falling asleep next to her.

"Where are you going?" he asked, frowning. In contrary to Percy, Bobby had an exact idea what Reyna was feeling. So to soothe him, she just put on a reassuring smile and then went past him without saying another word.

"Percy, I need to talk to you." She had reached their four seat ensemble and just interrupted a laughing match they were having. Immediately, all four of them fell silent and Percy looked at her, bewildered. Gwen then spoke up, a nervous undertone in her voice.

"Oh…Reyna. I didn't know you were that out nerved, if we have to be quieter, we'll just-"

"It's not about that. Just come with me." She said in a small but harsh voice with her gaze still on Percy, not wanting the few other passengers in the wagon to hear her. The son of Poseidon lifted an eyebrow, then quickly said something to Zoe and stood up, going after her without another word of protest. Wow, he was certainly improving on that one. Then again, she didn't know what he said to that Zoe girl. Maybe she should start learning Greek…No, now she was thinking nonsense, she had to concentrate here! When they were finally alone in an empty compartment, Reyna closed the sliding door behind them and turned around. Percy had taken a seat and seemed to wait for her to do something, he had gotten his pen out and played around with it nervously as if he wasn't sure whether to be relaxed or unsettled about her seriousness.

"Relax. I'm not going to assassinate you." She finally said with a small smile on her lips and then dropped into the seat opposite to him. His green eyes scrutinized him for a second, then he smiled a one sided grin similar to what Jason sometimes had on his face. Despite that on Percy, it looked kinda goofy.

"Good. Because you know I wouldn't have made it easy for you." He said and made Reyna roll her eyes.

"Don't get cocky. I'd find a way if I wanted to." She said and he immediately shut up, his smile becoming nervous. So there really was a weak spot…Hazel had said that she researched that curse of his and that somewhere on his body, he had a mortal spot that was woundable and for him, deadly. But she couldn't think about that now, there were more important things. The brunette cleared her throat and sat properly, readjusting her posture.

"Look, I need to talk to you about something. This isn't quite easy for me so it would be nice if you could shut up for a few minutes." She said honestly but also with a cool undertone to emphasize her serious attitude. Percy just nodded and motioned that he closed his mouth with a key and threw said key out the window. Honestly, she had to suppress a smile but managed to go on. Again, she took a deep breath.

"I realize I've been quite rude to you in the last few days." She began and saw that he was holding back a comment to that, probably something sarcastic. He had the liability to that, Reyna had noticed that before. But since her brown eyes were squirting at him, he decided to shut it just in the last second so she could go on.

"And I'm kinda sorry about that." She looked away from him now, suddenly interested in her fingernails, which looked terrible by the standards of Dakota but just okay to herself. It wasn't really like her to apologize for anything she did, even if it was utterly stupid –which happened fairly often, she had to admit. Sometimes, she kind of…overreacted a bit. So when these words were out of her mouth, they had a bitter after-taste…really bitter. But once that was gone, she looked up to Percy's startled expression again. Man, for once, she'd really like to know what that guy was thinking.

"I realize now that I might have been a little bit wrong about my reaction towards your…heritage. You really helped us with Midas back there. And with the monsters at the Castra. And with the Naiads. Yeah, well, you get what I mean." She quickly interrupted herself because this was really getting embarrassing and she hadn't realized until now how much he had actually done. Oh, he had also saved Dakota. But she wouldn't start about Dakota now, that would just throw away the actual topic here.

"Anyway! I've decided that maybe, you're not that bad of a Greek after all. From now on, I'm not going to mock you about that anymore and I'll at least try to hold back Hazel and Bobby. You have to understand though. We're all still kind of upset about Jason and we three knew him the best. It's hard for us to hear he's out there somewhere and we just missed him by maybe a few days." She sighed and then shook her head. Her lips wanted to say more but she held them back. There was that look on Percy's face that gave her a little wave of disgust. What was he thinking? This was as far as she would go right here.

"Yeah, that was it I guess." She said, pressing her lips together and standing up from her seat. She walked to the door and heard Percy getting up behind her.

"So… we're friends now or what?" he asked, again raising his eyebrow.

"Not gonna happen, Jackson." She said tautly, her gaze still on the glass of the door but she couldn't hold back a small smile on her lips when she left. And she wasn't completely sure if he saw it in the glass because when the son of Poseidon sat back in his seat, his expression looked kind of different to her. Maybe, just maybe, taking him on this quest hadn't been that bad of an idea after all.

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_Yeah, I wanted them to bond a little tiny bit more. So you get to know why Reyna is being so angry! Is my reasoning plausible? xP Tell me if I'm getting crazy XD. And btw, thanks to _Sylvie_ for pointing out my mistakes, I'll correct them! *hug*_

**Please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:** It was the Chrysler Building, Blackjack landed on that lion thingy at the sides :D

**_Next Question:_ **(an easier one)** WHAT'S THE COVER NAME FOR THE FURIES?**


	75. A Pointless Search?

_April, 9th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ redandwhitetigers, pjohpkc28, Crazydragon111, LlamasWitHats, NeptuneRox, olegnAiDociN, blazerules34, PeaceLoveAndCheese**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Aaaaah, I'm seriously going to New York! :3 I'm so excited :D. I've never been to America before and especially New York was really attractive for me :). Is it crazy that once I go there, I first want to visit all the places PJO took place? I'm such a big freak lol...XD. Seriously, I really can't wait. But I'm also afraid of the flight, the last one I had was when I was 5 and I can't even remember much of that. Plus, it wasn't for 10 freaking hours! O.o *shiver*_

_If you noticed that I'm not replying to the reviews: I'm just answering if there are questions or critique that I could explain etc. Because I'm really busy atm and can't answer every single one xP. I'm really sorry, just want you to know that I read all of them and am sooo very thankful for them! T_T. Anyway, new chapter ...You may notice that now finally, the two teams are finally synchronizing in time! :D You know what that means ;P  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXXV**

**Percy**

For the rest of their train ride, Percy felt ten times better. Reyna was the leader of this group and after she had finally admitted that he might be not so bad, the climax in the first legion was pushed up a few volumes, at least that was what the son of Poseidon experienced. Plus, he had always wondered why the heck she was that mad at him all the time.

Back in his seat, he enjoyed the company of his friends, sensing that whatever they would find in Salt Lake City might interrupt their quiet quality time they had now. No, he wouldn't live in the illusion that this mission would go smoothly any more. Something or someone was out there and was desperate to stop them. He was even expecting that this train blew up any second since they were still traveling by earth, which the prophecy had warned them about. Seriously, Percy had suggested going all the way by boat. He'd surely be able to navigate them and the Naiads would help them get there. But the Romans weren't content with this idea at all, not even Dakota or Gwen. It seemed that even that short ride by boat had made them quite sea sick, even if they didn't want to admit it, the son of Poseidon was able to see the signs. Not that he had been seasick before –could he even get seasick as a son of Poseidon? Oh well, never mind, stupid question- but he was sure to have seen someone getting that green shimmer around the nose and that expression on their face. Now that he thought about it, it might have even been Annabeth. Her young face, maybe twelve or thirteen, appeared in his mind. Then he suddenly heard her sob a heartbroken sob and her face flashed before him, her eyes full of bitter tears and her face full of sorrow. His eyes widened and he held his forehead. Slowly but surely, some pieces and bits of his memory were coming back but they were over so fast that it were only separate images and he couldn't really conclude his whole life story from it, much less know what was going on. So these little pieces made him even more confused.

"_Is everything alright, Perseus?"_ Zoe asked. Normally, Percy hated it when people called him by his full name. With Zoe though, it was somehow different since she spoke mainly Greek and in that language, Percy sounded kinda strange to her. He had gazed outside the window after that flash of memory and now turned his head to face her. To the others, he had to be strangely quiet after that talk with Reyna but it had gotten him to think again and therefore he now smiled reassuringly as he saw the faces of the others, all a little worried in slightly different ways.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said and Zoe quickly nodded. She already understood a big deal of their language for the short time she had practices. Seriously, it was a miracle how she absorbed it as soon as it was explained to her once. Maybe she had a natural talent for the study of languages or maybe there was something different about her that they hadn't embraced yet. Dakota turned to the window again and as she gazed outside, she gasped.

"Oh wow, look, Centaurs." She said with a smile and pointed outside. And indeed, there was a small group of Centaurs right outside the train on a field. They were holding bows in their hands as if they were hunting something.

"Wow…they look really pretty." Zoe said in a strange accent but still perfectly good English.

At first, Percy wanted to comment on the Centaurs as well but then he gasped.

"Wait…you can see them?" he asked and raised an eyebrow at the mortal girl beside him. The daughter of Midas nodded and frowned as if she didn't understand why he was asking. No way, she was….

"You're clear sighed!" Gwen breathed and suddenly, all eyes were on the twelve year old, who looked utterly confused.

"I'm what?" she asked in surprise and looked around for an answer. Percy was the first to catch himself again and he had to smile slightly. This made perfect sense now…there had been a reason they found her, she could be a great help to them. Somehow, the son of Poseidon knew from experience that a clear sighed mortal was just what you could need on a quest. Of course she was still in danger because she was weak but when it came to detecting monsters, she would be unbeatable. Now that he thought about it, she had seen his Pugio back then, of course a regular mortal would have seen something beside the knife.

"You're a clear sighed mortal. Normally, mortals and partly also demigods are affected by the so called 'mist', a veil that keeps them from seeing the real things, like monsters and our weapons. Really few mortals are born with a talent to see through the mist though. They mostly lose it over the ages when they are influenced by the things they are taught to see but some keep their talent even when they grow up." He smiled as Zoe sank back in her seat to take that information in.

"So…that's good?" she asked and Percy nodded.

"Oh yes. I think I have a mortal friend that's also clear sighed. " He said and even though that raised some eyebrows, he was pretty sure about it. A girl with red hair and freckles all over her appeared in his mind but it quickly disappeared before he could focus any further. He let out a sigh and concentrated on the present, where Zoe now had a broad smile on her face and intertwined her hands with one another.

"Wow, that means I could actually be helpful to you guys! That is so cool!" she seemed really excited about it. Back in Reno, they had bought her some random clothes from a shop before their train arrived. She now wore a pair of jeans, a regular shirt and a sweater over which she had a thin jacket. Also, they had bought her a backpack full with clothes to change into and other useful stuff. Percy also handed her some of his mortal money and the Roman current, Dinarii. He himself had had to ask Reyna about what that was when they first mentioned it in history lesson at the Castra.

"_So, they're like Drachmas?" Zoe had asked while frowning and Percy's eyes had widened before he nodded. _

"_Yes…exactly like that." He finally said and ignored the questioning looks from the others since they had spoken in Greek. _

Drachmas…the Greek currency, Zoe had said. And in his mind, it made click too. What if he was from Zoe's time as well? Reyna had said that there weren't any Greek demigods in this time, that Greece had faded. On the other hand, that wasn't even possible. Instead of being clueless about the modern stuff like Zoe was, he was perfectly familiar with all the technology and modern America in general. He couldn't have come from the Underworld or just another time like Hazel had suggested. Even though the others said it was impossible, he also somehow sensed he wasn't the only Greek. Lupa had once said _'You're a demigod alright. But no, you're not like the others.'_ She had known it. And she probably also knew that he wasn't the only one. The people from his dreams, he had to know them from somewhere, and it was most probably the place where he had been trained too. What if the Castra Roma wasn't the only place for demigods? What if there was another one? Another Camp?

His thoughts were quickly interrupted when the train finally arriving in Salt Lake City. It came to a slow halt and the other passengers were getting up, obviously eager to get off the transportation. Out at the station, they met up and Hazel suggested they should buy a map of the city, since none of them had ever been here before. It was already getting late so they had to hurry into one of the shops to get said map because they were close before closing. Although they were all pretty exhausted, Reyna was still voting they should start with the search right now. After all, they didn't have enough money to stay in a hotel overnight and they had to get back to the Castra as soon as possible since it could be in severe danger. Since they were already away a day, Percy was also getting worried. Of course, the Romans were strong and they had Lupa with them but still, the last time they had merely managed to suppress the mass of monsters. What if the boundaries were getting even weaker and with lesser numbers, they weren't able to maintain their defense? It wasn't as if the Castra was his favorite place in the world but he had gained some friends there in the little time he had stayed and he didn't want to lose his new home like that if he could help it. Plus, the others who were with him on this mission were also very concerned and they had been in the Camp for many years, Reyna five years, three of them even for seven years straight. For them, it indeed was home and Percy didn't want them to suffer over losing all their friends. And if lives could be saved by them acting fast, doing so was the least they could do.

So they made their way up to the great salt lake with the public transport, walking a big part of it until finally, they reached the top east of the lake. Since they were send east, Percy figured it would be the place to start searching. Now how they were supposed to find the seal, that was another question. Once, Percy had offered to go into the lake again but Reyna had said he shouldn't

"I have a strange feeling about this place…I think we shouldn't be here, much less separate." She stated and then looked around. It was normal for her to be the most paranoid since she was prepared for a fight any minute but Percy felt it too. There was a strange breeze in the air, as if something was approaching they wouldn't like at all.

"Okay. Then how am I supposed to search for it?" he asked and crossed his arms, looking at her. To that, the daughter of Mars had no answer. So they made their way around this gigantic lake that Percy wasn't even able to see the other side of. It was slowly getting dark and so they wandered around with their flashlights out, managing their way around the water somehow.

"Maybe it's around here…" he finally said into the silence. While they were walking, nobody talked. They all got this feeling in their necks, as if they were being watched so maybe it was an instinct that they behaved more quiet than usual. Percy also felt that they were close but he still couldn't tell the exact location. Would he be able to feel it at all? His face was in a frown and he rubbed his eyes. He felt rings under them and as he glanced at the others, he saw that they were the same.

"That's what you said about every damn side lake we just passed, Jackson. Give us a break." Bobby complained and dropped his butt on the ground nearby. Hazel next to him nodded, her arms crossed. They both glanced at him with the same hatred in their eyes. Well, at least that hadn't changed.

"Bobby's right. How can you be sure? You probably got that prophecy all wrong. We got here a few hours ago and searched two lakes already. If it was really here, shouldn't you sense it? We should try it further west, this is a waste of time…" she said, her grey eyes glaring daggers at his. He felt like exploding inside but instead, Percy just breathed in heavily and looked at his companions, who all seemed really, really tired. He couldn't let them walk around this area without any rest, they had had a rough day, all of them had.

"Fine. Let's just rest here, it's no use searching in the dark anyway. But I don't think we should leave the city, I'm really sure about the hunch with the salt. It all makes sense if you look at it, this is the perfect place to hide it and I'm going to search every inch of these lakes if I have to." With that, he dropped the ground also and the others did the same.

They divided the night into shifts and made up camp near a giant rock that seemed like something good to have in your back. They also decided to get up really early in the morning so they could sneak around more without the other humans noticing them. The rock was to their left and they could still see the lights of that restaurant to their right. A small campfire helped them warm up some of their food and they quickly got comfortable in their sleeping backs. Since the moon was coming out now, Percy was soon able to see the stars, which were oddly bright today and he had to smile at that, thinking about what constellations he knew.

Since he was pretty exhausted, sleep found him quickly. This time though, he had no dreams of the memory sort nor was he seeing Annabeth -even though he had hoped for it. It was more like a fast flash of multiple things of his experiences at the Castra Roma as well as some things that completed his thoughts from this afternoon on the train.

When the first light of the day hadn't even hit the ground, the son of Poseidon was shaken awake abruptly by the high pitched scream of a girl…

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_Dudun. Wonder who's screaming and why o.o". Let's hope they get out of that City alive...the Greeks will have an update soon, you may have to reread the end of the last chapter (68. Annabeth's new Riddles). Soon, I'll have to change to general point of view because there are going to be so many people and I'll never be able to catch a chapter per person, that would be plane confusing. So when there's suddenly a "everyone" or something over the chapter, don't be confused xP. Ah btw, HAPPY EASTER! XD_

**Really hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:** The Kindly Ones was the right answer ^^. Mrs. Dodds is just Alecto's Teacher name xD

**_Next Question:_**** WHAT ARE ANNABETH AND PERCY EATING ON THEIR "KINDLY ANIMAL TRANSPORT" RIDE WEST?  
**


	76. Treason

_April, 13th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ cjanimal, blue-skies-green-eyes, Emories, olegnAiDociN, blazerules34, Me And My Luck, PeaceLoveAndCheese, NeptuneRox, LlamasWitHats, Crazydragon111, olympusgirl12 **  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Oh well, stressful week xP. Still, I managed to pull another chapter today, yay! Finally, some Greek stuff again xP. I'm really sorry this story is taking to long to progress but I like to write everything out, I have it when things are rushed and I don't want my story to be that way. Don't worry guys, we're reaching a very dramatic point of the story. For those of you waiting for the typical reunion like in every beginner SoN or MoA story; please don't tell me to hurry every chapter. Yes, there will be a reunion but no, it will most certainly not be like anything else you have read here. At least not as far as I know the stories and I've read _a lot_. _

_Anyway! Thanks to Yellowtomato for giving me the idea with Antilope Island XD. I found that name so funny, I had to include it xP And don't worry, I'm not going to abandon this..too much work put into it :) As long as you all stick with the reading, I'll stick with the writing :D We're the perfect team, woo! XD  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXXVI**

**Thalia**

What exactly was Annabeth up to? Thalia had been half slumbering in her back seat since they had made a stop in Denver to change drivers. She had wanted to drive them all the way to San Francisco but because she was so tired, she had almost made them run into a truck once so Grover decided Leo could drive since they had plenty rest in that house they were into.

For Thalia though, the days alone hadn't been that easy. She had barely made it out of the plane in time before it hit the ground. When she finally got that belt away, she grabbed her backpack as well as the others she could grab in time and just jumped the hell out of there without looking down, her eyes closed. She still had about 20 meters to fall down though and somehow managed to do that wind trick she had used in the cave with the Basilisk so she landed relatively gently. That didn't help though, because the next second, the plane exploded, sending her flying halfway down the mountain and making her deaf. Half blind and without orientation, she somehow found a cave where she could be save from the storm and regain her composure. Unfortunately, while she was resting, the storm was getting stronger and she had to settle in since she still couldn't hear anything and her whole orientation senses were down. Artemis once told her that it was saver to rest and prepare for later than rush on with too many wounds to handle your own body. Normally, she would just want to find her friends but she could barely stand with her ears like that so she camouflaged herself in that cave, wrapped all her jackets around her and prepared everything for a stay there as long as the storm lasted.

It had been freaking cold in there, even with the fire she later lit since she assumed not even a monster could get around in the storm so it wouldn't see her anyway. After she spend the night, her hearing came back to her completely, with the Ambrosia and Nectar from the backpacks, she was perfectly fine around midday and though it was terrifyingly boring to be there alone, she managed somehow, sharpening her spear and practicing her fighting, trying to improve the way she shoots her arrows and summoning more wind magic.

Plus, she had time to think a lot. While she lived off the food in the backpacks, she thought about this whole situation and was inwardly really concerned about how her friends were doing. She hoped that they weren't still trying to look for her in this storm, because that would be suicide. But she knew Annabeth, if she couldn't guaranty their safety, she wouldn't let the others search, even though she probably would blame herself if they didn't find her. Man, she had to be worried, first her precious Seaweed Brain and now her? She hoped that Grover was smart enough to convince her she was okay. And then there was Jason…would he be mature enough to let her go for the mission? Because if they had to, they may have moved on already. Sometimes, that was necessary, she got herself separated because she had been acting weak, they shouldn't wait for her. After all, their time was fairly short. They had no clue how much time it would take to find that Roman camp and they didn't know what they did to Percy in the meantime. What if he changed? As much as she sometimes fought with her cousin, she didn't want him to be any different. Plus, that would only pain Annabeth to the end, she wouldn't be able to take it when he didn't remember or when he became all stiff and Roman. Yes, she would pretend to be okay but Thalia would be able to tell in her eyes that she was only acting upright while inside, she would break. The daughter of Athena had been through too much to lose Percy as well. Thalia herself had once left her and she had later to witness how much that had changed her two best friends, Luke and Annabeth. Especially Luke…but no, she wouldn't think of him right now. It was over, he was probably already revived by now. It was all fine. Still, if Annabeth hadn't met Percy, Thalia wasn't so sure if she wouldn't have turned bitter as well upon seeing Luke change so much. She had always clung to him so much, Thalia knew that even if she was Annabeth's best female friend, that she had never been able to give Annabeth what Percy was able to give her: Security. Inner strength . The portion of humor she needed. And so many things more Thalia didn't want to think of right now. Honestly? Never dare tell him that but she missed him too . It was hard to see the Camp without him, to see Annabeth without him. As much as she had sworn off guys, she also knew that Percy would never hurt Annabeth intentionally. He wasn't like Luke. Yeah, that stupid son of Poseidon was far too loyal for that.

So the other morning, when she had just wondered when in Hades that strange storm finally cleared, it suddenly stopped and even though she was really suspicious about all this, she made her way down to the City to find the others. Maybe they were still in town because it looked like the storm had hit here as well, snow was practically everywhere. So when she finally found a trace of her friends, relieved that they were indeed alive and still here, she was thrown back into reality because she also saw giant traces of a monster. A dangerous one to say the most. The huntress followed their trail as fast as she could and luckily arrived just in time.

Back in the present, she eyed Annabeth suspiciously. Her grey eyes were lit up and she seemed to have urgent news, something that was driving her crazy. Of course, Thalia's best assumption was that she knew something about Percy. Something new that was pursuing her to no end.

"Las Vegas, Baby.", Leo answered her after she asked what the next city was. Immedeatly, the reaction came. Grover and Thalia's eyes widened and Annabeth half jumped out of her seat.

"WHAT? Are you insane! Turn around this INSTANT!" she demended and almost climed over Leo's seat to turn the wheel around. Around them there were only a few cars and suddenly, out of shock, the son of Hephaestus spun the wheel around, hitting the brakes real hard. All of them had to grab for something to support then and Annabeth, being half out of her seat, dropped back into hers, her grey eyes extremely wide. Suddenly, they stood at the other side of the Highway, some cars behind them hit their horn and another car approached from behind them, driving in the direction they just came from. Quickly, Leo hit the gas pedal and soon they were rushing down the opposite direction of the highway, their wheels squeaking and all of them were in shock, either grabbing their heart or something different, knuckles white.

"Wh-what do you have against Vegas?" Leo asked in a small voice, obviously out of balance with his normal act of being completely cool. Annabeth calmed down her breath before answering. Grover in the front seat seemed to have a complete heart attack, chewing on his jacket and Annabeth quickly hit the back of his head so he would snap out of it.

"I told you guys that we once ended up there, trapped in a hotel for a number of days, thinking it were only a few hours? Well, in case you didn't notice, we can't quite effort that and the more people you are, the more difficult it is to keep them all together in a city like that. No, we really can't go to Vegas, that would be the death of our mission. Take the other highway, we have a new goal now. Salt Lake City." She briefly explained, her voice calming everybody down from the shock but she also raised more confusion.

"What, why? What's there?" Thalia asked, frowning and leaning forward while Leo looked onto the street again, his feet on the gas pedal for far too long. Annabeth now turned around to her old friend and suddenly smiled a smile the daughter of Zeus hadn't seen for a long time.

"Because that's where Percy is." She simply said and as soon as she did, all Hades broke lose and questions flooded out of their mouth. Everybody, even the new guys and even Yuki questioned what she had dreamed and what exactly she saw. The blonde explained everything, that she had dreamed about the Romans being beside a lake and that Percy had said they searched for something. She had gotten the hints together and concluded they were in Salt Lake City, since Percy had said it had something to do with both salt and a lake. Well, that all sounded pretty logical but Thalia still didn't quite understand.

"But why is he there? Shouldn't the Roman Camp be near San Francisco? Wait…was he send on a quest?" she asked, completely bewildered. Where these Romans nuts? Not that Percy wasn't able to go on a quest, it was just…he just got there, normally you wouldn't send people on quests who just got there and were suspicious, untrained and whatnot. Man, these people had to have a few brain cells missing. Annabeth on the other hand nodded. Thalia saw the worry in her face but other than that, her eyes sparkled like fireworks. For the first time in days, those grey pools seemed…alive.

"Yeah. I really don't know what they're thinking but this means we have a chance to meet him without the whole camp around! This is the perfect opportunity, we could make Hera's plan work, even if she is a shallow being." The blonde breathed in slowly to calm herself down. Then she had a serious face again and leaned forward.

"Alright, Leo. We have to get there as fast as possible. Get this car to drive like there's no tomorrow. Just ignore any police and hit the gas pedal." That made Leo grin.

"Aye Aye, captain. Man, I always wanted to do this…full speed!" and he really hit the gas hard, hurling Thalia back in her seat once again. She couldn't believe it. One moment she was wondering if they would even survive until San Francisco and now there was a chance to meet her cousin in the next city? This was just too good to be true…there had to be a dark side to all of this. Things never worked out this good, on no quest she had went to or she had heard from. There was something wrong… But seeing Annabeth's face, it was hard to break the news to her. The huntress knew that the daughter of Athena wasn't blind. She had probably already considered that it was a trap. Still, that feeling in her stomach wouldn't go away, that feeling that made her believe that this trip wouldn't have a happy ending…

Only a few hours, the clock said it were 3 and a half, they made their way to Salt Lake City. Leo parked the car and they almost jumped out, ditched it and after getting their orientation in the City, bought a map.

"Sometimes, I wish we could just use a satnav." Thalia sighed as she unfolded the map.

"Yeah well, then we'd be run over by monsters." Piper sighed as well and put her finger on the map, searching for a point that would be plausible to start searching.

"Aren't we anyway?" the huntress rolled her eyes and ruffed her hair, also staring down at the paper.

"SO…oh wise girl, where do you think they are?" she asked, frowning and looking up at Annabeth. She caught the daughter of Athena off balance. The blonde had been staring at Yuki, who had been looking at the map also. Thalia followed her gaze and raised an eyebrow. That girl was awfully quiet since they left that house. It was almost like she was just tagging along with them and it bugged Thalia as well. She didn't want to bring her along but Jason insisted. She was Roman, they should make peace where they could, he had said when Thalia told him of Annabeth's suspicious thoughts.

"I think it's that island." The blonde finally said and pointed straight to the thing as if she had known it was there all the time. The boys leaned over the paper as well and Leo let out a small laugh.

"_Antelope_ Island? Seriously?" he said but as always, Thalia ignored him. He was just so annoying! Percy didn't even get to that level.

"Why do you think so?" she asked and studied Annabeth's face. She had a strange look on her features and was staring at the map they had laid out on the stone table before them. They were in some public place where they were still some people around even though it was completely dark and the middle of the night. Of course, the demigods didn't even think about sleep. Their adrenaline was far too high for that. The possibility of finishing their missing with only three quarters of the way and effort was just too good to miss because of a simple thing like sleep.

"I don't know…I just feel it somehow." The Architect shrugged and finally, Thalia gave it up.

"Fine. To Antelope Island we go." She decided and folded the map. It was best to listen to ones instincts, the huntress had long learned that even before she joined Lady Artemis. When Annabeth felt that Percy was there, he probably was. And since Grover didn't complain and kept nodding in though, she assumed that there had to be something right about this. So they all stood up and made their way back to the car, where Leo drove them over to the island, following the directions Piper gave him.

"Hey, you alright, Goat Boy. You've been so quiet all the time." Thalia asked and nudged the Satyr in the side. He just flinched and jumped, obviously having been deep in thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that I feel the link getting stronger. It's so strange…sometimes I think I hear something from him but it's really distant, like somebody's suppressing it. The link is still active though, that's for sure." He said, smiling. Yeah, he probably really missed Percy too. Best friends and all. Thalia gladly hit his shoulder, her way of showing affection to the whiny goat.

"Hey, isn't that good news? We'll find him, I bet on my quiver." She said and grinned, trying to cheer Grover up.

Soon, they reached the island and the daughter of Zeus was fascinated by the mass of water before them. Not that she was into swimming –gods, no ten Pegasi would get her in there-, it was just kind of beautiful to see. The lake was a brilliant dark blue and reflected the light of the stars and the moon, which was full tonight, making the night awfully brightly lit up. Thalia had to smirk. This was the prefect night for a hunt, the perfect night to call upon the powers of Artemis to find somebody. And this somebody was her idiot cousin.

"Let's explore! From here on, the road is pretty useless I guess." Leo said and drove the car from the road out to the desert like landscape until they reached something similar to a forest and let the car there, walking deeper into the woods.

"We can cross the island quicker this way, it's much more effective than to drive around it. Plus, we're quieter. Perhaps we can ambush them." Annabeth explained, smiling at the end. Was it just her or did she seem like a whole different person?

Anyway, they managed to walk a few meters into the woods when suddenly, a cave appeared to their right. The huntress could have sworn, that hadn't been there just a second ago. And it seemed to draw her closer.

"Oh this can't be good." She mumbled and looked over to her friends, who were also staring at the cave entrance.

"We're not going in there. Just slowly back away…" Annabeth said, her face now serious again, taking a step back.

"But what if this Percy boy is in there? Maybe he's trapped…" suddenly, Yuki wasn't so quiet any more. She stood there behind them, her face unnaturally pale and her icy blue eyes glistering in the moonlight. There was something off about her but Thalia couldn't place it. Unfortunately though, she had hit a nerve. Annabeth froze and her gaze on the cave changed. It became one of longing, of pain and deep worry. She gulped. Thalia wanted to keep her from doing it but she had already decided…

"No. Even Percy wouldn't be stupid enough for that. He was in the Labyrinth with us, he's thinking twice about underground places." Wow, Thalia was impressed. She had thought that Yuki got her there but it was good Annabeth was still her reasonable self, even though she was hungry to see her loverboy again. They all wanted to turn around, when suddenly, a gust of wind caught Thalia like she was a simple leave, lifted her from her feet and shot her forward, drawing her into the cave entrance like it was some gigantic mouth, opening its teeth. She tried to calm the wind but this wasn't a regular one, it was magic. The others were shot away from the clearing as well, even Jason couldn't come to a halt. This cave was bad. All her instincts were telling her to run but she was forced into it by some strange power. The daughter of Zeus was able to turn around and what she saw shocked her, even if she had only waited for it:

There was Yuki, holding something that looked like a crystal with both her hands and she was smiling, her icy blue eyes almost glowing when she send her so called 'friends' flying into that hole. She was the one creating that magic. She was the one that wanted Annabeth to go in there and she had been the one Annabeth had suspected all the time. Why hadn't they reacted sooner? Why? She had helped them alright. She had gained their trust and now literally blew them away from her. Thalia's rage boiled in her chest and she was ready to stab the child with her very own spear.

They all landed on the ground inside the cave painfully but Thalia didn't flicker for long, she jolted up and yelled.

"You goddamn traitor! We took you in and what are you doing? Get over here you stupid little-" but the huntress was interrupted in her rant when suddenly, directly in front of her, flames were erupting in the ground, blocking her path and almost burning her face. She stumbled back and had to cough from the smoke that arose, making her lungs burn like acid. When she finally looked up again, Yuki was gone and a wall of unnaturally hot flames blocked their way out.

They were trapped in this cave and Yuki, their pretended friend had proved a traitor.

The first line of the prophecy had become true.

* * *

_Dudun. Yes, I love to do that, don't I? XD now you know that Yuki really is the traitor, like you all expected her to be. I have to say, I was really obvious there xP. At least I have many other surprises in storage for you xP. Btw you probably all think "Leo can just go through the fire" but naaaa, we'll see about that ;P. I'll probably start the general POV next chapter. Be prepared o.o_

**Really hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:** (double stuffed) Oreos was right! So many people knew that XD

**_Next Question:_**** WHAT DID THE INVISIBLE SERVANT SPELL OVER HEPHAESTUS? **(yes, I'm all about food these days...)


	77. Gaea's sadistic mindplay: Beginning

_April, 17th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ Kaitie85386, blue-skies-green-eyes, iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, blazerules34, olympusgirl12, PeaceLoveAndCheese, impatientkid **  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_I just finished this, it's the first general POV and the middle of the night. I'm tired, University is lazy this week and I'm going directly to bed after this is up xD. So please don't be so hard on me, not so much spell check today x_x. Still had fun writing this because now, the Drama starts. And as a sadist (irony here) I just loooove writing drama :D (no irony. I love it. No idea why). Sorry for the late update again xP  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXVII**

**General POV**

Annabeth was still on her knees when the heat of the fire hit her in the face and the smoke made her lungs burn like acid. All of them coughed heavily and her grey eyes tried to search the smoke for any sign of that terrible traitor, Yuki. She could hit herself for trusting that bitch.

"What the heck? What's with this fire?" asked Piper. She tried to shield her breath with her sleeves but it didn't help, the smoke was just too much. All of them could barely see and they felt their limbs getting numb. This smoke was nothing normal.

"Leo, can you extinguish the fire? Or walk through it?" Annabeth asked between breaths and glared at the son of Hephaestus. Leo also breathed through his sleeve but he nodded and tried to stand up, his hand extended to the fire as he took several steps forward. The flames were strangely hot, even he could feel the heat. When he finally touched them, he had to pull his hand away quickly.

"Ouch, what in Hades? I never…what's with this fire?" he asked, staring at his hurting hand as if it was a monster. He had never been hurt by fire, not even when he was two years old. What was it that made him not immune any longer?

"That's because of the smoke, silly demigods." Said a voice from the darkness of the cave behind them. All of them turned and it was bizarre how the light fell on them, only the fire was lighting the dark hole and slowly, two creatures came out of the shadows to face them. There was a woman, tall and woven into extravagant fiery clothes. She wasn't exactly pretty but also not ugly, her face was thin and her chin ended in an edge. On the contrary, her partner's face was broad and stony, his jaw looked like he could chew stones easily. He was fat and really ugly, eying the demigods. The woman had spoken and she had seemed amused. Annabeth hated it when people knew something she didn't and especially when they rubbed it into her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked between her teeth and glared at the two of them, trying to ignore how the smoke hurt in her eyes. Now, the woman raised her hands and the smoke cleared, it built little rails and was absorbed into her very hands. The fire was still burning, blocking the entrance.

"My smoke is weakening you, demigods. You're not going anywhere today. From now on, you're our prisoners." With that, her partner threw nets in their direction. All of them tried to block them, they had all fought gladiator style before, it was normally no problem for them to control an opponent with a net in a fight. But this time, they were in no condition to swat it away or cut it. All of them were considerably weakened by the smoke, which had obviously some magic to it. Jason and Thalia weren't able to produce lightning, Leo wasn't immune to fire anymore and apparently, he couldn't shoot any either. Desparate as they were, Piper tried to charmspeak but she was just too nervous, this situation was overwhelming them and the othesr were obviously still shocked because none of their powers were working.

So a second later, the two monsters or whoever those persons were, trapped three of them in a net and the other three in another one. Piper sat together with Annabeth and Thalia while Jason Leo and Grover where hurled up in the other net.

As if trapping them in a net wasn't cruel enough already, the two enemies laughed their heads of f and each carried a net, dragging them across the floor painfully. Piper felt her skin beginning to peel off where she hit the ground and she tried to make her clothes touch the ground only. Soon, they were beginning to rub off also so she winced. The same problem was encountered by the others and the daughter of Aphrodite tried to shoot a glance at Jason in the other net. Her only worry right now was that she didn't want to be separated. It didn't matter what happened with them, she just didn't want to be further torn apart. Not only from Jason, the others in the group had of course also grown dear to her. She felt her limbs beginning to stiffen.

"The poison is affecting us. This can't be good. Damn, where do I have that vial…" Annabeth whispered to Thalia. The daughter of Zeus helped her friend reach the pocket in the back of her jeans and the blonde silently thanked her while they were dragged along further, trying sit in the nets so that their skin wasn't peeling off.

The two monsters dragged them further into the dark tunnel, then, after some turns, the cave was suddenly lit with torches on the wall. Annabeth felt Lumi, the little light fluttering against her backpack from the inside. When they were in the car, she had asked it to hide inside of her backpack so she could pretend the humans from seeing it. While they were traveling, she had gotten so used to it that she almost didn't notice it any more. She pressed her hand against the backpack to keep the Light from trying to escape. Maybe they could use it later, there was no need to make the monsters realize they may have valuable things in their rucksacks. But since they were barely able to move anyway, it didn't even matter if they still had their weapons out.

Annabeth couldn't believe their situation. Just a few minutes ago, she had been so sure they would soon see Percy. Yuki had messed it all up. Whatever she had to do with Gaea or her mother, Annabeth didn't even want to know. All she wanted to do was strangle the kid for messing up her chance to find her missing boyfriend. Now, being dragged by these two creatures, she looked down at her hands and for the first time since reaching Salt Lake City, she saw something. There, on the palm of her right hand there was a little flame etched into her skin. It wasn't burned in or anything, it was more like a small red tattoo she didn't remember receiving. What was this? Some kind of mark? But from whom…she hadn't met any god, not that she remembered.

Suddenly, her eyes widened. Of course…it all made sense. Of course it was her. She should have known…Carefully, the daughter of Athena folded her hands and smiled. This situation was maybe looking pretty hopeless but as the sign in her hand told her, they had a goddess on their side. And it was a goddess who wouldn't care for Zeus orders to stay silent.

Thalia glanced over at Annabeth because she was acting so quietly. The huntress herself had kept trying to escape. Now that she glanced over to her best friend, she saw what was in her hand and had to suppress a gasp.

"When did that happen?" she asked really quiet while they were dragged around a corner. Annabeth glanced up and eyed their opponents, who were discussing something, maybe where to keep them. Then she turned to Thalia again.

"I'll explain when we're alone." She whispered. Suddenly, she was interrupted when they reached some kind of hollow room, a single cell at the end with broad bars even Tyson would have difficulty to bend. Annabeth swallowed. Damn, that could become a problem. Besides the fact that neither of them could move properly, this cell would prove difficult to escape from, with that stone wall around it and the broad bars. All of them winced when they were simply tossed into the cell and the door was shot behind them with a loud crash.

"Ouch. Stupid monster.." Leo complained and immediately was shot with a blast of fire, which he carefully tried to dodge, not used to being vulnerable to it.

"I'm not a monster, stupid son of the firegod. My name is Kaka, and I'm the former goddess of the hearth."

"So…before Vesta?" Jason asked with a raised eyebrow and Annabeth would have like to punch him right there. Rule in the world of a demigod: If you don't want to piss your enemies off, don't provoke them by telling them references from the mortal world (like that anteater named Echidna) or talk to them about somebody who took over their field of power.

"DON'T you dare mention that stupid goddess around here!" the female enemy said and this time shot for Jason. He barely dodged it, his shirt was singed at the side and he winced. Annabeth managed to stand up and sit in front of the others, Thalia followed her example so they were both shielding their friends.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Kaka. So, who's your partner there?" she asked and pretended to smile honestly. Thalia and her had a silent agreement. They were both more experienced with monster fighting . Even if Jason was in the legion twelve years, he had lost his memories and obviously, he was still a lot younger than them. Talking and bribing monsters wasn't that hard but you needed to get the hang of it. Percy never did to this day, he let his actions show. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option right now because they were mostly all paralyzed. So no lightning, fire or even charmspeak. Whatever strange power that goddess had, all that was left was their mind to play with. And that's where Annabeth came in because this was what she could do best. Toying with lower minds was easy enough. That's why she got in a protection position and took the talking part. Kaka reacted, Annabeth's words seemed to have calmed her down a little.

"That's my brother, in fact. He's not very talkative but he will guard you. He fought Herakles, you better be careful. I'll come back later when the fun part starts." She waved at them and then disappeared. Annabeth eyed the guy. He was broad and had fairly many muscles but he obviously looked stupid. The guy positioned himself in front of their cell and the daughter of Wisdom had to smile.

"Now." She said to Thalia. Their backup plan. Something she had come up with in the matter of seconds they had in that net. Fortunately, Thalia understood her without many words and nodded, unzapping Annabeth's backpack. Out came Lumi and since the ghost light obviously was pretty intelligent itself, it managed the job of distracting the monster pretty nicely. Annabeth then got the vial out of her pocket again and turned to the others, who seemed puzzled and hopeless.

"What are you up to? We don't have our powers, this seems pretty hopeless…" Grover said, tossing his pipe to the ground because he was barely able to move, much less control his fingers or play something on it. But Annabeth just shook her head.

"Grover, don't give up so easily. Remember what Percy would do? Probably come up with some crazy plan that would get us almost killed but somehow out of here. Right?" she nudged the Satyr, who smiled weakly at the memory of so many situations that applied to.

"Yeah, probably." He admitted.

"Well, I have a plan too. But it's not that deadly and will probably also not get us out of here immediately. We have to be patient and have to act well. With subtlety and restraint, we should manage to outsmart those two. Now inhale this slowly. Only a little bit though." She handed them the vial and they eyed it but Jason inhaled it. Then he coughed and almost dropped it.

"What the heck is that stuff?" he asked and waved his hand around. Then he realized he could move it properly again and his blue eyes went wide, a little more light flowing into them, making them less dim than before.

"It's basilisk blood. Despite the fact that his teeth, breath and glare are deadly, its blood has pretty good healing abilities. It's unknown among literature though, I only heard stories. But this seems to be it." She explained quietly. They all spoke in rushed tones and soon, when the blood made its round, Annabeth took it back and hid it again. It was a greenish liquid that actually looked pretty gross but when she herself smelled on it, she felt that the inability to move was crouching away. She sighed and veered around to the others again.

"Your powers are probably not back that so we have to rely on fighting alone. But we can make it. I'll give the sign."

"No, you're not escaping, little demigods. I'm back early again. Take your little light back and listen to me." The female voice, Kaka –what a name by the way- was back again and Annabeth was worried they heard her talk so she turned back and held Lumi as it came back to her, obviously scared of the mean woman who eyed it with evil eyes. Kaka then raised her arms in triumph, her eyes gleaming.

"You're about to watch a great show. My mistress offers this to you. She described it as the downfall of your hero that you should watch so you can see that you yourself have no hope. Then, when you fall to despair, she shall rise higher than ever before and make me goddess of the hearth again." What she said made no sense but it drowned to Annabeth that this couldn't be good…no, it couldn't be good at all. She swallowed heavily as she turned around. The goddess had been pointing behind them. But there was only a wall, what was there to see-

She interrupted her thoughts and her eyes went wide. No way in Hades…this was a transparent rock. They had a freaking transparent rock in their cave! Outside, it was barely light enough to see, but it was the full moon, that was why they could see something at all. There was some kind of beach, maybe they had reached the other side of Antelope Island, just walking underground. Now they were in a stone that was transparent so they could look outside. What sorcery was this? And what for? There was nobody there! And it began to sink in slowly. Their 'hero'… She knew this beach. This was…this was the beach from…

All of a sudden, a voice disturbed all of their thoughts. By now, they had turned their backs on the two monsters completely, staring at the transparent cave in bewilderment.

"Styx, why is that thing this fast?" a far too familiar voice complained, his breath rushed and he seemed to come running from the right. Wait, it was sound transparent too? What the heck was this magic? One of Gaea's powers maybe?

"Wait, is that guy running on the water? Gods, it's Jesus!" Leo cried out and he didn't even look like he was joking. But Thalia just laughed, half amused, half devastated. Because logically, she also recognized the figure in the dark that was now setting the first foot on the sand, turning around with a bronze glimmer in his hand. A sword. Riptide.

"Ohh no, that isn't Jesus. This, my dear Valdez is Percy Jackson." She said as if she couldn't believe her eyes as well and her hand slid over the surface of the stone. Annabeth was practically glued to it, trying to control her emotions that began to boil up inside. But what did Percy mean by "Thing"…

The answer came quickly. Behind Percy, from the direction the son of Poseidon was facing, something shot from the water. It was gigantic. There was no way to describe it otherwise. And she had seen it before. Just like the beach. Horror rose inside of her, sheer panic. Because she knew what would happen next. I-it was a sea serpent. A gigantic sea serpent. And Percy was here, just a few meters away.

This was going to be the scenery where Rachel's painting would take place.

* * *

_Oh my gods, it's transparent! This is going to be so dramatic...they can see him but he can't see them and he is about to die and it's just going to be heart-wrenching and epic x_X Look forward to this, honestly. Or am I exaggerating? Is it not as great as I think it is? D: Please tell me if it isn't so I might change some things xD. I know it sounds illogical but Gaea is the freaking mother earth, I think she can do whatever she wants with stone xD. Btw, I made that stuff with the Basilisk blood up. So please don't ask about that, this is fiction, I can do what I want XD.  
_

**Really hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ It was Pepsi. But I'll let Soda/Cola count as well :)_

**_Next Question:_**** WHERE ARE ANNABETH, PERCY AND TYSON HIDING ON THEIR FIRST VISIT ON THE PRINCESS ANDROMEDA (IN THE MORNING)?**


	78. Gaea's sadistic mindplay: Keto

_April, 22th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ PeaceLoveAndCheese**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Ah, it's so late and I'm soo sorry T_T. I had a visitor over this weekend and I couldn't just sit here and write all day. And the week was too busy to do so. So there's only going to be one chapter this weekend, I'm really sorry I have to do this but maybe I'll manage something on Tuesday? No promises but I'll try :/. At least this chapter's a little longer to make up for it xP  
_

_For now, thank you so much for your support, guys :3. Please note that I'm reading every review, even if I don't have the time to answer. You can all feel hugged! *hug*  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXVIII**

**General POV**

Percy jolted awake at the sound of a girl's scream. He had to force his eyes open but the Adrenaline in his veins got him awake almost immediately.

"W-what happened? Who-" but he interrupted himself when he saw what was up. Gwendolyn and Zoe had been awake, the two together had been on duty around 4 o' clock, because Gwen was still hurt and Zoe alone wouldn't give away much of a guard. The two of them were staring at the water of the lake, their eyes wide and shocked. The others also awoke quickly at their scream but Percy was still the first one to reach them.

It was boiling. All over the surface, the water seemed to be heating up, it had almost a red shimmer to it. Percy wasn't sure what was happening but he shoved the two girls father back and swallowed as he stepped closer to the glowing liquid.

"W-wait, it looks like it's boiling, you shouldn't touch it." Gwen warned and stretched out her hand. The son of Poseidon found it sweet that she was concerned but he just smiled at her reassuringly.

"It's fine." He said and then crouched down to put his hands in the water. In the meantime, the others were up as well, the girls were looking pretty cranky with their hair all messy but Percy and Bobby weren't looking much better. Though for Percy, messy hair was the normal situation so he didn't bother any further.

"What's happening?" asked Reyna. She glared at the lake with her brown eyes, not sure what to do. Her swords in hand, she pressed her lips together as if she wasn't sure what to do.

Percy's fingers now touched the liquid. It didn't hurt him as he expected. Still, it was strange. The water wasn't behaving normally. Steam was now beginning to come from it and he narrowed his green eyes as he seemed to feel something strange. He got to his knees completely and inhaled slowly, now closing his eyes so he could concentrate. There was something down there, something huge and it was-

"Oh holy Poseidon! TAKE COVER!" he yelled and jumped up. Fortunately, they all had fast reactions and listened to the son of Poseidon as he got out his sword quickly and took a few steps back. Immediately after that, a huge beast shot from the water and because it was so fast, Percy was only able to make up a giant green blur and red eyes. It created a gigantic wave that threatened to wash over him and her friends but he quickly held up his hands and stopped it with his powers. Still, some got through and rained down onto them, making the camp look like they ended up in a short rain shower.

When he could make out the creature, he didn't feel much better. Man, he only got up a freaking minute ago! And now there was this giant, monstrous thing…was he maybe just dreaming? No, there was no way he could make up something like this.

"What in Hades_ is_ that thing?" he breathed but he already knew. It was a sea serpent. A gigantic one that was. But it was so huge that into his neck, there could fit a whole house. How could he have been around this lake and not notice it? Without being able to control it, he felt his hands shaking. He quickly pulled his act together and breathed in and out slowly. Also, he clenched his hands into fists and fortunately, the shaking stopped. He wanted to speek up, when Hazel got there first, coming from behind a stone and glancing at the monster's head.

"Is that…a Soldier?" she asked, squirting her eyes. The others came out behind her, their weapons ready to kick some ass and they all seemed to be completely cool with everything. Except Zoe. She stared at the giant thing and her eyes were so wide Percy wasn't even sure that was physically possible. She was shaking openly and grabbed her dagger tightly as she also did with the stone beside her. Her eyes seemed to be blurry, like she was being elsewhere. Then she suddenly blinked and held her head, her vision seemed to be clear again. She breathed heavily and then looked up, staring at Percy. What…was that? She had seen something but it wasn't here. Percy was there and the others too and…gods, so much…blood…

"You're right, it is!" Dakota cried out and clapped her hands in front of her mouth. Her blue eyes had flown up to the spot where the serpents head was hovering over them. On top of it, just between it's glowing, scary red eyes, there sat a human figure, wearing a purple shirt.

"A traitor." Reyna hissed, her brown eyes glaring at the figure and her hands were shaking with rage. If she hated something, it was treason. It had been enough that some soldiers had betrayed them in the last war to join Kronos. She didn't think that whoever their enemy was would be as powerful as the titan. Well, she hadn't hoped for it at least.

"But who-"

"Er, guys? I hate to interrupt your little talk but I think we should maybe eventually come up with a plan to…you know, beat it?" Percy suggested, swallowing and glaring back at the sea serpent who was staring right back at him.

"He's not exactly complimenting us." He said, his face looking more nervous with the second.

"You can understand it?" asked Dakota but Percy just looked at her as if that was the most unimportant question right now, which it was.

"Yes of course, it's a sea serpent." He said, staring at her incredulously. He blinked away the thoughts and turned to Reyna to say something. The monster interrupted him through and let out a terrible scream and it was echoing through the air like a gigantic roar of a hypergigantic lion or dragon or something of that sort. His nostrils were blazing and he was glaring at the son of Poseidon with red, terrifying eyes. Percy looked at the thing more closer now. It was of a dark shade of green and had two thin sensing whiskers on each side of his nostrils. When it opened its mouth, it showed giant sharp teeth and somehow Percy was certain that it was able to spew a very affective mass of water that could have a very high pressure to it. His body was made of a very big serpent body but also a little trail of spikes on the back of it, making it look even more dangerous. Also, Percy could make out schemes under the water so he wasn't sure if the thing was even bigger or had something like tentacles hidden under the water. Percy had to swallow. This was going to get rough, especially because he was the only one who was able to actually reach it with his sword and not shoot it from far.

Then all the plans he made in his head were ruined when the lights went on to his right. The people in the restaurant. They had woken up from the monster's scream! Immeately, the serpent turned its head towards the light. Percy's green eyes widened.

"No! No, you're not going to do that! Turn to me! Come on, look me in the face you ugly sea creature!" he yelled and threw a stone in the direction of the monster, which hit him somewhere on its body but obviously had no effect. Then he tried to splash it with some water, making it rise high up until the girl –which it obviously was, now that he looked closer- was drenched in liquid. That got the monster's attention, since he wetted his face as well and it turned to the son of Poseidon.

"Yeah, that was me. Want revenge? Come and get me!" he said and took a few steps forward, landing with his foot on the water. Since he was obviously able to walk on it, he received a few stares from his friends.

"Wait- Are you nuts? That thing will pulverize you when we don't work together!" Reyna complained. Of course, always for the teamwork. But this was a sea creature, he could handle it a couple of minutes! So he just smiled. Dakota stared at him, horrified. Was he really about to do what she thought he would do? But he couldn't! He'd die…this didn't look like something anybody could handle alone, not even a son of Neptune or Poseidon or whatever!

"Relax. I'll hold it off so we can reach a mortal-free spot. Go to that island on the map, I'll meet you there!" he said and in the next second, ran across the water and was on his marry way.

The Romans were still bewildered and shocked so they watched the sea serpent turn and splash, following Percy through the sea.

"Hey, is someone there? Are you alright? HEY!" they heard voices with flashlights coming from the restaurant and Reyna regained her composure first. She shook her head to shake away the crazy thoughts in it. Why was Percy doing that for them, why was he so reckless etc. etc.

"We have to follow him. I hate to say it but we need him. He can't just be killed off by that thing. Let's go to that- Wait, what was it called again?" she asked and looked over at Hazel, who had hurriedly packed her stuff and now searched the map.

"Antelope Island." She said and Zoe raised an eyebrow at the name but didn't say anything. Her thoughts were with Percy and she walked next to Gwen. They all still had their weapons out and now began to jog since they didn't want the mortals –well, the unaware mortals- to catch or see them . Reyna took the lead and the others followed but Zoe clung to Gwendolyn's hands. The healer was the one who understood her the most. She seemed to know a little bit of Greek due to her healing but somehow, she also felt another connection to her.

Suddenly, she fell over. Her face would have landed in the dirt first but she managed to support her body with her hands. Then her vision blanked out.

_She was standing at another beach. It was a different one than they had seen before. The others were facing the sea serpent but everything seemed to be frozen in time. Zoe could walk around but the others didn't see her nor did they move. On the ground next to her was a giant puddle of blood and in it, there was Percy, obviously unconscious. Gwen had her hands hovered over him and Dakota was on his other side, trying desperately to wake him up. She herself was sitting next to the daughter of Venus and stared down at her friend, the one who had supported her since her awakening. What was happening? Was he…dying? This amount of blood…there was no way he could make it if that was all his._

"ZOE!" she was jolted awake by Gwen who was shaking her violently. Her dark eyes stared at the daughter of Apollo and she was at a loss of words, not able to tell where she was or what happened.

"What-Where.." she began but quickly, she was pulled to her feet again by Bobby.

"Come on, you're dragging us down. I'm going to have to carry you. _Knew it, that silly little mortal will only mean trouble for the mission._" The last part was mumbled to himself but Zoe still heard it. She had obviously only been out for a few seconds but inside of her, it felt like decades. What did she just see? Was it just some kind of worst case scenario she had made up inside of her head? Or was it possible that this was…the reality? But she couldn't possibly see the future, right? There was no way such things were possible. Percy told her she was clear sighted, yes. That meant she was a regular mortal who just happened to see clearer than everyone else. But that didn't include seeing visions like that…did it?

It was a long way to Antelope Island. At least it appeared so to them. With every second that passed, Percy was farther into danger. Did that monster have something to do with the seal? And what was with the prophecy? That last line, their scourge…was it that monster? And why a _scourge_?

After far too many minutes, deadly tired and out of breath, they reached the island. It had been a travel over a small land connection that was build for those human vehicles they called cars. Zoe clung to Bobby's back and was silently praying what she saw hadn't been the future. From the other side of the nearly desert like island, they could hear the noise of fighting and followed it. Soon enough, they reached the beach from her vision. There was little sand to be seen, mostly It looked like it was dyed out water since it felt like you had salt under your feet. Then there was the lake, still dark but a little brighter this time, a brighter shade of blue. Maybe it was less deep around her. The serpent itself hadn't changed much. It was still gigantic and scary but somehow, it had grown tentacles on the lower side of its body. They had probably been there the whole time but looking at them now made the creature even more disgusting. The whole beach was smelling like everything Zoe had learned to dislike about the sea. Unwashed fishermen, sunburned seaweed, rotten fish and some scents she couldn't identify but they still made her want to gag. Before them, there stood Percy. He was still standing on the water –something Zoe and the others still couldn't quite get used to- but he looked pretty worn down. His clothes were torn, especially his shirt. It barely remained on his body. His skin underneath was unharmed though. The son of Poseidon had his sword in hand as if his life depended on it but he was breathing heavily even though he seemed really fine otherwise. The serpent already had several cuts on it's gigantic neck but all that did to it was to make it even more angry. It was glaring at the son of Poseidon and just when they reached the beach, it screamed and out of it's mouth, high pressured water shot in the direction of Percy. Luckily for him, water didn't faze him so he was able to half dodge and half reflect it, however that sword could make a shield against that high pressure, they had no idea.

"Finally. What the heck were you doing?" asked Percy when he spotted them. Even though he had looked grim while fighting, one could now see the relieve in his eyes. He took a few steps back but kept his eyes on the monster.

"I think it's still holding back. It hasn't even used its tentacles on me." He said, swallowing. Now that Zoe looked closer, she was able to spot what those tentacles really were. It wasn't as anything she had seen yet. They weren't like an octopus tentacle, with little dots that could attach to any surface. No, that…thing had spikes all over them, big spikes. The biggest were as broad and high as a human and the smaller ones at the end maybe as big as a hand but still probably pretty painful.

"How the heck did you even survive until now?" Dakota exclaimed, obviously also noticing the spikes. Percy just shrugged it off and smiled at her. He seemed to want to reassure her, pretend he was completely fine but some, like Gwen, were able to see through him. He wasn't fine. He was tired and he needed healing. Now. But he shrugged Gwen's hand off his shoulder as if telling her to keep her energy.

"It's a sea serpent, I can handle it. Would be pretty lame if I lost to a sea monster." He said, laughing. It sounded nervous though. This thing was as high as a skyscraper, there was nothing he had to say to make it obvious he was only acting brave.

"Percy. I think I know what creature this is. And it's not good." Hazel finally bumped in. Gwen had already wondered what she was holding back. The daughter of Minerva was pale as a toga and pressing her lips together. While she explained, Bobby and Reyna had decided to take the monster's attention. After all, it wouldn't just let them talk and stand around like that. It obviously wanted to kill them pretty hard. But they all agreed silently that even though he may not want it, Percy deserved a little break. So Hazel looked at the monster and continued explaining.

"This is Keto. The most terrible monster your father has possessed in the times of ancient Greek. After he went over to Rome, after it was beaten once, he sealed it somewhere really deep, somewhere unreachable. It's not a good sign that it's here, not at all. Keto was said to be a terrible opponent and Poseidon only unleashed it onto a human once. When he got angry at the queen Cassiopeia. You probably know the story, after all, your namesake, Perseus was the one to slay it." As she explained, Percy slowly nodded. Yes, that made sense. Fighting that thing had been pretty exhausting. Not because he couldn't take it, it was just not getting weaker and the water shots weren't either. His body was tired though. From the travel, the lack of sleep and now the continuous use of his water power. If he was to believe Lupa, in case he found that essence she had been talking about, he would be able to control those powers more freely, with much less energy. Well, that would be pretty useful right now. How about you show up, oh powerful essence? But he shook away the thought.

"Yeah, that thing with the princess Andromeda et cetera. I remember. Man, that guy had to have some skills, huh?" he laughed drily and looked at the sea monster and Reyna, who was now barely dodging another water-breath attack. Then, out of the blue, Percy began to grin.

"Well guys. Then let's show this monster what the _modern_ Perseus is made of." And with these words, he jogged off towards the water, sending a water attack in the direction of the monster and leaving his Roman companions to follow him.

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_Dudun. Yeah, the fight is starting. Basically, these two chapters were still divided into Roman/Greek but not that clearly any more. I'll have them all in one chapter next time, that'll be really hard to write o.o". Btw no, Keto isn't an easy opponent, even for Percy. The original Perseus had the help of Medusa's head (in some versions) to slay it so Percy's only advantages are the powers he has from his father. And those are wearing him down pretty fast. So we'll see who wins this ;P.  
_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ I meant the girl's bathroom xD. Only one got it right o.o. Congrats to you :3  
_

**_Next Question:_**** WHO WAS ON GUARD DUTY AT THE BEACH WHEN PERCY CAME BACK TO CHB AFTER THE _PRINCESS ANDROMEDA_ BLEW UP?  
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	79. Gaea's sadistic mindplay: Torture

_April, 28th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ 3214sammy, cjanimal, Flufflover, blue-skies-green-eyes, olympusgirl12, impatientkid, pjohpkc28, Crazydragon111, blazerules34, I'mwaytoolazytologin, PeaceLoveAndCheese, olegnAiDociN**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_I'm such a sadist...seriously. At the end of the chapter you'll know why I think that ^^. Now enjoy 5000 words of sorrow *muhaha*_

_That should btw make up for last weekend. This chapter is freaking long...xP_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXXIX**

**General POV**

Dear Gods, her nerves were so close to being torn it was hardly bearable. Annabeth Chase was leaning against the transparent stone wall and she felt her hands getting cold from pressing against the freezing surface. But she didn't care one bit because on the other side, just a few meters away, there was Percy. Percy Jackson, in flesh, right there. And he wasn't even able to see her.

"This…this is just too much." Grover finally broke the silence. They saw Percy and the monster, that gigantic sea serpent and how he was fighting it all on his own. All of his three friends were tense, their muscles ready to jump at anything even though they knew inside that they couldn't, that they were trapped here. And Grover said it, it was just too much. Even for the other three, who never actually met Percy, it was hard to watch him fight that giant thing alone while they were sitting right here, theoretically able to help him, even without their special powers.

"That bitch. To think I trusted her. Now look, she's right up there at the head of that thing." Piper exclaimed and squeezed her eyes at the head of the monster, where a blur of purple was sitting while the head was moving and dodging Percy's water attacks. Jason nodded in agreement to her statement. He was especially shocked about Yuki's treason, had he been convinced she was from that camp he had once lived in and loved. That couldn't be, right? Why would she betray them, they rescued her. Was it because of her mother after all? Had Annabeth been right all along? Probably.

Annabeth herself couldn't move nor speak. Her mind was racing while her eyes were concentrating on Percy's every move. Percy was supposed to be crushed right in front of her eyes with her knowing she couldn't do anything about it. This was pure torture. Deep inside, she had thought that even when that painting came true, she wouldn't be present or wasn't able to help it anyway. Yes, she wasn't able to help it but it was so plain cruel that she was just here behind this stone and could see him, hear him but not help him at all though she knew exactly what this monster was and that he in fact didn't stand a chance, most of all not all on his own. She had been holding her breath and was only able to exhale because Thalia nudged her back to reality.

"Hey, snap out of it. I'm sure he'll be fine, he got far better with his water powers as it seems." Thalia was right. He did seem to handle the water of the lake really well. Still, she turned to her best friend and panic was written all over her face, her eyes were starting to water without her being able to control it.

"No, Thalia! You don't understand…this monster, do you even know who that is?" she almost screamed. She didn't even notice that Kaka was gone again, leaving them alone with their agony. The others just shook their heads and Lumi hovered over her head nervously. Thalia sighed. No, she didn't know but her best friend would probably tell her soon. And from her look, it wasn't good. Man, did Percy really have to have such bad luck?

"This monster is Keto! _That _freaking Keto, the one who was once sent by Poseidon to punish Cassiopeia for her arrogance…" her voice was lost and she looked different all of a sudden. Still shocked, but not in the psycho way but more as if a realization hit her.

"_The queen was arrogant against the middle brother, so the middle shall punish her for her words and you for your foolishness... _of course…Cassiopeia, Poseidon..." She whispered, leaving the others even more confused but also shocked. Keto? Most of them had heard of it and if that was true…

"So basically, you're telling me this is a sea monster not even Percy can handle?" Thalia said, her blue eyes now also filled with panic and worry. She shot a glance through the transparent wall and watched her cousin move to dodge the monster's attacks. He couldn't go on like that forever. At some point, he would be hit. And then the monster still had those nasty tentacles…

"This isn't good…not good at all…" Grover summed up all of their thoughts and he began to chew on his own backpack.

"We have to be able to do something." Piper said, looking around into all of their faces that looked devastated, desperate, in panic. There had to be a way…she wasn't willing to give up just yet.

"Maybe bribe the guard into doing something or-"

"Piper, stop it. It's no use. I ran over the possibilities. They got us cornered. Unless we want some of us to get killed along the way –which I could never risk knowing it beforehand- we can't make it without our situation changing at some factor. It just has to be a small one but right now, escaping is not an option. I guess we just have to…w-watch it happen." She said, her voice failing in the end and her grey eyes blinked back the tears.

Thalia eyed her friend. This wasn't right…she was normally never this hopeless. Was it just because of Percy being right there and her not being able to do something? But he might have friends around, he might make it, she couldn't know- Or could she?

"Annabeth, what do you know that we don't?" she asked, frowning. Had she dreamed about this? A vision maybe? Sometimes, when the gods were subtle, something like that happened. So what did she see that made her think like nothing could change their situation or like nothing could save Percy from…yeah, what? Losing? Dying? No, he couldn't die…could he? Not like that. Judging from Annabeth's face though, it was very much possible. The blonde was now sinking to her knees completely and looked away from her friends, gazing outside.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you." She said. Indeed, she sounded really sorry but still, Thalia was curious. Annabeth on the other hand just couldn't bring herself to tell the others what Rachel had painted. She was convinced she could take it alone and just had to figure out a way to evade that future. But deep inside she knew that there was no way around it. Speaking it out aloud would make it too real. She had to think that maybe the vision was faked, done to make her hopeless and weak inside. Well, if that was the case, it succeeded. Recalling her whole life until now, she had probably never felt this helpless, not even when holding up the sky. Back then, she had been positive that Percy would come and rescue her, even if he had to travel across the whole country and put up with Thalia whom he didn't really like back then. He had to fight his way through countless monsters and on top of that a titan and Luke but She just knew he would do it anyway. Because that was just how Percy was. Right now though, she saw no way out. And Percy was right there, needing her, needing anyone to help him fight that thing. She was really close to breaking down when suddenly, there were noises coming from the right and Percy was landing on the beach, turning around. His face lit up and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally. What the heck were you doing?" he asked when a group of people came into view, all a little out of breath but all of them looked like they were in fighting shape and most important of all: They had purple shirts and weapons.

"I think it's still holding back. It hasn't even used its tentacles on me." Percy explained and pointed in the direction of Keto. Annabeth nodded silently behind the transparent wall while the others beside her now kept quiet and watched. Sometimes, they still shot Annabeth some nervous or worried glances but none of them dared to interrupt the daughter of Athena in listening to the Romans talking. In the dark, Jason tried to make out the shapes of their faces to see if he knew them. He wasn't entirely sure but he recognized some faces. His head swirled and he leaned against the bars of the cage, Piper next to him. She was touching his arm gently as if knowing what he probably went through but she was just shooting him a quick glance before looking back outside again. It must have looked strange, how they were all staring at this wall like it was some wide screen television.

"How the heck did you even survive until now?" A blonde demigod asked and stared at Percy. There was admiration in her gaze and voice that made Annabeth think about if this was Dakota, the girl Yuki mentioned. Yuki, that traitor sitting on top of that giant thing –however she got up there- as if she was the boss of all this. On the other hand, the blonde girl was right. It was a miracle Percy was in that good of a shape until now. His curse had to have saved his ass again but as always, he didn't seem to realize that and just shrugged it off.

"It's a sea serpent. I can handle it. Would be pretty lame if I lost to a sea monster." Behind the wall, Thalia laughed at that.

"Typical." She said, shaking her head. Grover nodded and chewed down another piece of his backpack while Leo looked irritated.

"Why's that?" he asked Thalia and for once, she didn't glare at him for questioning.

"He's trying to make it sound as if he has no problems so they aren't worrying. If he was being truthful he'd admit he was about to lose but he would never do that. He's just far too protective and heroic." She tried to make it sound like it was annoying her but somehow, she was just enjoying it too much that she was able to see through his act and in general to see her cousin again that she forgot all about pretending to find him annoying. Leo just sighed and shook his head. He was surrounded by undouptable heroes, huh? Was he the only one who'd have doupts about dying just like that?

In this second, Percy declared that it was time to show them how the modern Perseus worked. That made Leo laugh. That guy had humor. But it also proved his theory. First, he was insane and second, he was one of those demigods who had no problem with dying for somebody else. When he looked around, he'd see two more, at least. If he could believe the stories, Thalia already did sacrifice herself for her friends once. And Jason was just about to on their last quest. The trait of protecting ones friends must be really widespread among children of the big three.

Outside, the fight rages onwards. Annabeth was following the Roman's movements and was simply impressed how they seemed to take formation without a single word being said about positions or fights breaking out about who chose defense. Two girls stayed in the back and pulled out their weapons, a slingshot with golden bullets and a bow and arrow. The blonde girl, Dakota, shot the bullets which were normally for middle range with such force it might as well hit like a bullet from a shotgun.

"Wow, that girl has to have serious arm muscles" Leo commented and with a closer look –as close as you could get under the moonlight- he noticed how seriously pretty-scratch that, beautiful- she was, even with the fierce look on her face. He whistled.

"Now that's my type of girl." He said and immediately got punched in the shoulder by Piper.

"Shush up, Flame boy. Every good looking girl is 'your type'. We're having a situation here, this isn't the time to flirt or even think about flirting!" she pressed between her teeth and her colorful eyes glared at him dangerously, daring him to argue with her.

"Well _you're_ certainly not my type…" Leo grumbled and therefore earned another punch, this time a lot harder.

"I heard that."

Annabeth on the other hand tried to ignore them. She was watching the Romans hit the monster with their weapons. A brunette girl had transformed the rings on her arms into two golden swords but constantly changed the shape of them.

"That's Reyna." Jason said and all attention went to him. He ignored it and went on. Some memories were flushing back into his head.

"We-we were good friends back in the day…she is second in command of legion one, daughter of Mars." He recalled and held his forehead while pictures came flooding back to him. It hurt but he endured it. It was all better than the nothingness that had been there before.

"Reyna…Yuki mentioned Percy had beaten her in a fight, right?" Thalia remembered and received a simple nod from Annabeth, who was the only one not to take her eyes away from the wall for one split second. She watched that Reyna girl closely and had to admit that even if she wasn't at home in the water like Percy was, she fought pretty well with her legs knee deep in the icy liquid. Suddenly, she noticed something.

"Who's that girl in the back? The one who's staying behind?" Annabeth asked Jason without looking at him. Jason focused on the girl and came closer. She was wearing normal clothes but not a purple shirt and she had a golden dagger out but didn't join the fight, stayed behind the blonde girl with the sling and the other blonde with the bow. Her hair was pitch black and she had dark eyes. Also, she was really young, maybe twelve.

"I don't know…I never saw her before. She doesn't even seem familiar." He said, obviously confused. Annabeth nodded slowly but fixed her eyes on the girl, analyzing. She had a steady stance but her body didn't look like she was used to fighting. She looked rather fragile but her composture was elegant, head high up but not too arrogant. Her curly black hair was woven into a complicated hairdo and she watched the monster very closely.

"_Zoe! Can you see some kind of weak-point or something?"_ Percy suddenly screamed. He had just barely dodged another water breath attack and was certainly out of breath by now. He had looked at the girl in the back. Most important of all though, he had shouted in Greek. And the girl understood. She shook her head.

"_No. I'm sorry Percy but it looks like the mist is hiding nothing with this thing_." She replied and gulped, her eyes looking him over worriedly. His clothes were torn but otherwise he looked fine. Just completely tired maybe.

"What? What did they just say?" Jason asked next to Annabeth. But the others didn't answer. They all knew what it meant that they were saying. And not only that, it also meant…

"…they know. They know who he is." Thalia said and shook her head in disbelieve.

"And they have a clear sighted mortal with them whose name is Zoe. Okay, now I'm officially confused." Grover added and sat back a little, dropping the piece of his backpack he had just grabbed with his hands. There was barely a trace left of the bag, only it's remaining insides were tossed all over the floor. Jason stared at the girl, now just as shocked as the others.

"M-mortal? You mean like Rachel? Now that's definitely new…but why is she speaking Greek?" he asked while Annabeth also tried to come up with an explanation. Why would they have a mortal with them? If Jason didn't know her the only explanation would be that they met her on their quest. But for what reason? If she learned something on their many quests, it was that nothing ever happened without it having a certain purpose. This all had to have a connection somehow…

"PERCY!" a scream tossed her out of her thoughts violently. Her grey eyes widened as she heard the panic in that voice. Her head flew up and she hurriedly searched the scene outside for her boyfriend. There he was, in front of Reyna, who had just been knocked over by one of the tentacles. Obviously, the monster had come to quite a pinch with this many soldiers so it had decided to use its deadly arms against them. Percy had protected Bobby and Reyna, both in the water, from getting smashed by it but now, the tentacle had wrapped around Percy's arm and with a sudden tug, it pulled him upwards with him resulting to be lifted out of the water. Of course the son of Poseidon struggled, tried to cut the tentacle with water and slashed for it with his sword but soon, another tentacle appeared and hit his arm hard, making him drop the weapon.

"Oh no…" Annabeth breathed and shook her head, her grey eyes wide. Her mind had completely forgotten about her musings from just now, she was focusing on Percy and playing situations of how he might be able to escape that pinch.

"Help him! Come on, somebody!" she screamed at the wall and smashed her hand against it. Thalia glanced at her worriedly but didn't complain yet. The blonde was right after all. Percy definitely needed help.

When the Romans were out of their shock, the attack began again. Reyna now seemed officially pissed and swung her spear at the monster angrily, fire escaping and burning one of the tentacles. Unfortunately the wrong one.

"Let him go you cowardly big slut of a monster! Come down here and fight me instead!" she yelled while Gwen shot more arrows and Dakota shot more bullets. Unfortunately, they were running out of munition soon and even though they really tried, the situation just got worse.

Percy himself was mad. He was lifted up further and further, the spikes of the tentacles pressing against his skin. Right now, he was really really glad he had that curse on his skin. Soon, the teenager reached the level of the monster's head and glanced into its evil red eyes.

"What? Want to breath water at me? Oh yeah, that'll work on a son of Poseidon." He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Inside though, he was pretty much worried. This thing had so many spikes…what if one of them actually hit his weak spot? Then he'd have pretty much a big problem…

"Oh no, we're not that stupid." A voice other than that of the monster surprised Percy. His green eyes glanced up and he noticed a girl, sitting between the monster's eyes, leaning her back against it as if it was a comfortable couch.

"Ah, the traitor, I see. What's you name then?" he asked, frowning. So she had decided to talk to him in private or what? This high up in the sky it was almost a miracle the mortals didn't notice the monster yet, even if it was still dark. The girl had an Asian look to her but her icy blue eyes ruined the image somehow.

"I'm Yuki, daughter of Khione, goddess of snow."

"Yeah, I know who Khione is." He countered and rolled his eyes again. "Now could you please let me down? My friends are waiting for me down there and I'd hate to disappoint them. Plus, you can't hurt me anyway." He said, his voice filled with as much self-conciousness as he could offer.

"Oh, really? Well, then you'll have to disappoint them I guess. And are you sure you can't be hurt? I was told you have a weak spot somewhere on your body." She pointed her finger all over his body as if thinking where to strike first. Then she smiled even wider.

"And I'm well aware of that curse problem…my mistress thought of a solution for that. Do you remember that hellhound? Well, that poison was only a test…" she almost grinned now and on her pretty face, that looked really creepy. Percy's eyes on the other hand widened and he tried to free his arms. Suddenly, he felt a surge of pain from the spots were the tentacles hit and he looked there, almost afraid to see it. His skin. At the exact spots the spiked hit, his skin was becoming purple. Gwen had told him the same had happened when the hellhound had bit him.

"They're poisoned…" he breathed, barely able to speak because the pain was getting more intense by the second. Again, he pulled on his arm and tried to kick the tentacle. In that instant, two more tentacles appeared and wrapped around his legs. Crap. This was so not good! It was at this point where he couldn't act any more, his green eyes probably showed how this was scaring the shit out of him. And that brought Yuki to smile again. Was that a hint of mercy? No, it was quickly disappearing again before the demigod spoke.

"Yes, that's right. You're dying here. My mistress wants especially you out of the way. The one who slay her strongest son, the one who defeated the mighty Kronos." She stood up and walked over the monster's head to its nose. Keto moved so the Asian girl was now standing directly eye to eye with Percy. Since he couldn't move anyway, Yuki reached out and grabbed his chin, still smiling. She turned his head while Percy tried to stare her down. The only thing he could do right now, unfortunately. He was too far up to manipulate the water and he was out of power anyway. That poison was draining on him too, the pain was getting so intense now that he just wanted to scream but he withstood so he wouldn't look weak and useless. If he had to die here, then maybe the monster would leave the others alone. Whoever that "mistress" was, she obviously was out for him alone so maybe it was better this way. But even if it was, he wasn't the one to die this disgraceful. So he still struggled and Yuki shook her head, still grabbing his chin and looking into his eyes.

"Mh, I can see why that Annabeth girl likes you so much. You are quite the handsome fellow. And really stubborn _and _strong." These words let Percy stop the struggling. He froze right there, his green eyes wide. Because he didn't concentrate, a painful moan escaped his throat but he ignored it and glanced up at Yuki, hungry for answers. His breath was uneven and he could feel the poison spread through his system, making him incredibly tired.

"Y-you know Annabeth? Where is she, what have you done to her?" he asked, his voice as loud as he could manage. Yuki just let go of his chin and shook her finger in front of his face. She whistled and Keto wrapped its tentacles around his arms and legs even tighter, the spikes were now sinking through his skin even though the curse was still there and honestly, it hurt like freaking Hades. The son of Poseidon couldn't help but scream now and he heard from down on the floor that the others heard him, yelling his name in desperation and worry. All of them, even Reyna. He was barely able to keep his eyes open but somehow, he managed to lift his head again and looked at Yuki.

"You freaking bastard…tell me where-she-is! You will totally regret doing this…" he threatened even though he knew that it was probably useless. Last time he was poisoned by this stuff, he almost died. If nobody helped him up here, he'd most certainly go to Hades the painful way. There was no water to heal him either and if Yuki let Keto try to find his weak spot, they'd quickly manage to kill him directly. He hated to admit it but his situation did seem pretty hopeless.

_If any god is listening there, I could use a little help down here._ He silently prayed and then sighed. Now he prayed for the gods to help him? What a loser was he? Didn't Reyna say the Romans never begged for help like that? But what other option did he have?

"Oh, I will regret? Who will make me? You? Your_ friends_? I'm sorry but I can't tell you about Annabeth nor about where the seal is you are seeking. But you're a child of the sea god, right? Maybe you can tell me…my mistress really wants to have it…" she said and forced him to look up at her. His vision became dimmer with the second and the spikes were sinking deeper into his skin. He didn't even try to pull on them any further, that would just make it worse.

"I'm sorry but then I guess you'll never know." He said with a grin. He didn't know anything about where the seal was either but he had his suspicions. Obviously, Yuki didn't know about the hint with the salt lake so he kept his trap shut. He certainly wouldn't be the one to sell them out to whoever that mistress was she was serving. His words made Yuki mad. Her hand on his chin suddenly became ice cold and burned against his skin and her grip became really solid. It was strange somehow…this girl was possibly younger than him but right now, she was creeping the Hades out of him. Styx, it didn't even fit her looks how she behaved. It was as if she was possessed or something.

"You will tell me what you know, Sea spawn. Or do you want your friends down there to be dead before you are? I can make them suffer just before your eyes. And then there are these others…what were their names? Mh…Grover, Thalia…oh yeah, and of course your precious little Annabeth…"

Percy couldn't believe it. This was his worst nightmare. Why? Why did this girl know that threatening his friends was just what would get him to do whatever she wanted? His own life wasn't even that important but that others would suffer because of him was something he couldn't stand. Even if these people down there had been mean to him, he couldn't just let them die because he didn't talk. And then those names…she knew his friends. Grover and Thalia..yeah, that rang a bell. Faces came to his mind at those words and he glittered his teeth. His vision was getting blurrier but he tried to stay awake.

"I…I…" he started, trying to come up with a good comeback. Then his shoulders dropped. There was just no way. The others were constantly attacking Keto but it didn't seem to be harmed in any way. And if Yuki really had power over what happened to Annabeth…he knew that he'd do everything to keep her from harm. So he looked to the side when Yuki finally let go of his chin.

"Fine. You got me." He said and breathed in heavily. He felt his voice slipping away from him. Yuki seemed satisfied though, finally taking a step back. The screams of his friends echoed from down below. Dakota seemed to have started crying, her voice was close to breaking. Reyna was really angry and even Hazel demanded that Keto let him go. It made him feel warm inside that they did care for him but there was no time to think about that now. Yuki crossed her arms as if waiting for him to spill. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to tell her.

"I'm sorry but all I know is that it's somewhere around here…we've been searching for the past hours but up until now, I didn't feel a thing-"

"What? That's it? You're just wandering around here aimlessly and searching? You're kidding me, right? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" Yuki interrupted him and punched him right in the face. For such a slim Asian girl, she sure had some power in her arms. Percy groaned and because Yuki moved him, he screamed again, the spikes were now seriously deep in his skin and it wasn't really comfortable to say the least. The daughter of Khione seemed desperate. She was running her hands through her straight black hair now and walked up and down the serpent's head. Percy guessed that her mistress wanted her to find out where the seal was. And he didn't have the information so she was probably in trouble. And even if she had seemed so calm in the beginning, she was now downright furious.

"Alright. I guess you're telling the truth. She told me if I'd threaten your friends you'd tell me." She in and exhaled slowly to calm herself down and then she suddenly smiled.

"Good then. You're almost done anyway. Keto, finish this hero for all time. Bye bye, Perseus Jackson." Yuki snarled and then turned around to walk away. Around him, more tentacles arose. Percy felt his mouth scream because of the grip getting tighter but he wasn't in control any more. His consciousness was already drifting away. This poison was stronger, director than the last one. What did Yuki say, the hellhound was a test? Then who made this? But he wasn't really able to think it all through. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed were spikes all around him, coming closer and the last thing he heard were the screams of his friends below.

Then there was the noise of moving tentacles, incredible pain all over his body, the feeling of falling, falling further and further. A splash of red liquid, worried words closing onto him and then all he felt and saw was darkness. Plain, black and entire darkness.

Was this the end of Percy Jackson?

* * *

_Dudun. Oh man, I'm so bad...but I love it. That's what's so fun about this scene xD. Btw, your reactions really keep me going! :3 Thanks so much guys :)  
_

_I have a question though. Let's consider I have more going for this story...would you want me to rush the plot so you can get your precious reunion or would you go for more of my fun and hearttearing angst and the full thought out plot?  
_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Connor Stoll was right! :)  
_

**_Next Question:_**** WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THE PICTURE OF HERMES ON THE WALL OF THE LABYRINTH? **(I'm so Hermes based here XD)


	80. Gaea's sadistic mindplay: Hope

_April, 30th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ olympusgirl12, blazerules34, iStoleYourBlueMoonIceCream, impatientkid, PeaceLoveAndCheese**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Okay, this chapter's a little better :) And I'm seriously thinking about that two plots suggestion (from Yanika, thanks ^^). But if I do the reunion right now, the story would be pretty much ruined. Trust me, I thought of multiple ways, so many ways to get around it. It would just simply ruin it. Please, you have to have faith in me that I have a plan of what I'm doing. And I have. This actually feels more than a book than anything else xP.  
_

_And again, I'm soooo thankful for your reviews! Thanks for telling me what you think so I can rethink the things I do and keep being motivated! I never held out for this long on a story, until now, I always quit midway because nobody cared about what I wrote x_x. So if you keep this up, I will also keep writing :3.  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXX**

**General POV**

Being forced to only watch this was pure torture for Annabeth. And not only for her. Percy's Roman friends as well as the other Greeks watched with terror as the spikes lifted him up in the air and wrapped around his body tighter. The daughter of Athena down in the cave was the only one aware of where his weak spot was and all she could think about was that please, please none of those spikes hit there.

It was hard to see what was going on up there since they were at least 50 meters in the air. What they could make out though was that Yuki talked to him and Percy didn't get a chance nor did he have the strength to free himself. They saw the water at the bottom move at some point, as if he tried to summon water to help him but either didn't have enough strength left or the water was too far away. Or both.

"No…t-this can't be happening…" Annabeth whispered and she felt her hands shaking without her being in control over it. Her breathing turned heavy and she didn't even notice the others around her any more. She also didn't notice how Grover was getting more quiet and motionless by the second, staring outside as if in a sleepy trance. Thalia put an arm around her best friends shoulders but Annabeth kept staring outside, her heart was aching at the sight of the captured Percy.

"God damn, do something! I was told you Romans were strong, now freaking help him!" she yelled and bumped her fist into the stone wall without noticing that it slowly started bleeding because she kept hitting the rough surface with such force. She did see the Romans trying to help but that the attempt failed so miserable just made Annabeth herself more miserable. She couldn't watch this…whatever Gaea's intention was with his, if it was to break her, she very much succeeded.

The blonde pressed her lips together helplessly to keep the sobs from escaping. She felt the others look at her but it didn't matter anymore. They probably knew how she felt about this anyway, she saw no need to play strong and invincible anymore.

Just when she thought that, a scream filled the air, so full of pain that it cut through her very soul. All of them as well as the Romans cringed at that noise and their gazes shot upwards. More spikes had entangled Percy and seemed to even sink into his skin. But that couldn't be, the curse…Annabeth remembered a scene from her dreams where Percy had been lying in bed with something on his neck that looked like poison. Was this the same? Her heart felt like lead when he had screamed and she now openly began to sob. Her hands clenched over her chest and she could feel it was being torn apart.

"No…p-please no…" she whispered and shook her head desperately, drawing in her breath as if she was in pain herself.

"Make it stop..Don't….n-not him…" she shielded her mouth with her hand so no more meaningless words would come out but also because she wanted to keep the sobbing down. This wasn't like her, no not at all. But then again, she was never able to stand it when Percy was hurt. Not when he was poisoned by that scorpion, not when they had fought on Olympus. It was just something she couldn't bear and that was the reason she was usually by his side to try and prevent it. But this time that wasn't an option…and that was what was killing her inside.

"PERCY! LET HIM GO! Damn this all…" she heard the blonde Venus girl scream and trying to hit the monster in the eyes. Unfortunately, the thing was too far up for her ammunition to reach it. Gwen beside her also seemed desperate and tried shooting the eyes but every time the monster blocked her perfectly aimed arrows with its tentacles and went for smashing the little soldiers with them. They had to dodge so many times that they were hardly able to aid Percy at all.

What happened next was barely visible to Annabeth's teary eyes. She had stared up at Percy, hoping that maybe he would get Riptide back into his pocket or another miracle like always. But then suddenly, all the tentacles from the ground left and rounded around Percy. Then, another horrible scream filled the air, ten times worse than before but Annabeth forced herself not to look away. That was a mistake. A second later, the spikes closed around Percy and he was swirled around, then let go and tossed to the shore. Not the water but the solid ground right before their cave. Annabeth was barely able to see it but was that a red liquid already on the ground? Strange…

Then there was a horrible sound that was even worse than the screams. When Percy hit the ground, it sounded as if probably every bone in his body had been broken. Which should normally be impossible due to him being invulnerable. But when the smoke cleared, the daughter of Athena realized what had happened.

_Now_ it was Rachel's painting.

Percy was lying in a pool of red liquid. Not only his blood but also something else. It was a mess of fish bones and such, bones of small animals maybe. Maybe the monster was fed here. Why hadn't she seen it before? But even if this wasn't Percy's blood, he was still losing a lot. There were holes in his arms and legs where the spikes had pressed against and torn through his skin. His forehead was sweaty and his green eyes were closed. Black hair covered his face, glued to his skin from the sweat and he lay there in a really awkward position that nobody could ever be comfortable in. Most important of all though: He was completely motionless. Annabeth wasn't even sure if he was breathing. He was just maybe two meters away from her now but it was impossible for her to touch him, to care for him, to see if he was even alive…

"No…gods please no…" she breathed and barely noticed her surroundings any more.

"NO! PERCY! Wake up god damn it…COME ON!" she wanted to yell further, when suddenly, Grover next to her collapsed to the ground. He gave away a painful moan and said something so quietly nobody understood. Then his head was caught by Leo and he gazed at the Satyr incredulously.

"What, did he just pass out now?" he asked, shocked. But Thalia shook her head gravely, well aware what it meant.

"No…no, Grover has an empathy link with Percy. T-that means…" the huntress swallowed and gazed at her best friend, worried to speak out the rest of that sentence. Annabeth still stared at Percy lying there so still. She wished he was being hyperactive like always, not able to sit still and being awfully annoying instead of just being there and not moving at all with these many wounds on his body.

"Percy! No, no no no no no…this isn't happening. Gwen, do something!" Dakota sobbed and stumbled on her way to the red puddle. Zoe and Gwen followed her, both obviously in shock. The daughter of Apollo got to her knees next to Percy, facing the Greeks in the cave while Dakota was on the other side and Zoe with her. They were blocking Annabeth's view of Percy but she was still able to see his face.

"Dear gods, all this poison, his bones…" Gwen whispered but they were all able to hear her. She chanted something in Greek –Annabeth wasn't able to think about why right now- and Zoe took out Nectar and Ambrosia from Gwen's backpack. The little mortal had been quiet all this time and her face looked grim somehow, she was obviously really close to crying but keeping it together for the sake of still being able to do something.

"Is he…?" Zoe asked in almost perfect English. Gwen shook his head but she looked like she also couldn't quite believe it.

"He's still alive." She said simply. Sweat was building on her forehead while she pushed all her power into her healing, that's why she didn't want to waist any time with unneccesary talking. Still, her words let Annabeth relax just a little. She had her bleeding hands still pressed against the stone wall and felt the tears falling without noticing. Her focus was somewhere else, her own pain didn't matter. Behind Percy, Keto began attacking again. Reyna shot Percy worried glances but she wasn't able to join the others around her because that thing was still attacking. Bobby, Reyna and Hazel were still holding it but they were also wounded. Reyna knew they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Whatever was with Percy, when he survived and was healed, they should escape from here as fast as possible. And if he wasn't…well, then they were forced to leave without him. Even if she had hated him for some time, that thought made her sad and really angry. This monster wouldn't steal another one of her friends…she wouldn't let it.

"But…how? If not those spikes, the fall should have killed him!" Zoe demanded. She seemed relieved as well but it was correct, for a normal human, that fall should have crushed all of his bones and at least his head, which would have ended deadly. Gwen nodded but didn't say anything further. The others behind Annabeth seemed to have the same question because there was going on a silent discussion between Leo and Piper. Annabeth sighed. She didn't want to take her eyes away from the scene but she guessed they deserved to know.

"His curse saved his life. Even if those spikes got through his skin, he can normally survive falls much higher than this." She then turned back and saw that Gwen's face had fallen. This wasn't good…

"W-what is it, Gwen?" Dakota asked hesitantly as if she was afraid to know. She had grabbed for Percy's hand desperately, which just told Annabeth what she needed to know about this girl. But just as Piper, she didn't seem like the normal Aphrodite girl. Dakota could fight. But that didn't mean Annabeth was ready to give up her seaweed brain to her.

"I don't know…something's not right. I tried to inject him the antidote I mixed last time but it doesn't work. It's a different poison. And if we don't get it fast…" Gwen said in a grave voice.

"Wait." Zoe suddenly interrupted. She held up a hand and closed her eyes as if something gave her a headache. Then she looked down at Percy again and looked over his body.

"Turn him over carefully." She commanded and the other two helped her do so. Annabeth's tension was rising while they did. The blonde didn't even question how Zoe knew that Annabeth was hungry for them to do so. She knew where his weak spot was. Even if he was alive, if he was hit there, there was no hope-

Oh gods no. He was. There was a tiny wound. It wasn't even big but it was there. Just opposite his navel, there was a small cut. Annabeth gasped broke down. Thalia next to her looked at her with wide eyes.

"What? Don't tell me that's where…oh no." she finished and stared at Percy's back while Annabeth now hid her face in Thalia's arms. The daughter of Zeus couldn't believe it. Her cousin, her insufferable little cousin would…die? Just…just like that?

"Where what?" Leo asked, obviously still puzzled. Grover was lying next to him now but his breathing was normal. He was just unconscious. At least for now.

"His Achilles Heel." Thalia answered. "If his skin it cut there…"

"Oh no…" Piper said and covered her mouth, now also hiding her face but she did it in Jason's chest, who looked a little stunned as well, staring at the guy who was supposed to be the famous leader of Camp Half-Blood. No way he would die this easily. There had to be somebody to help, some god…they couldn't just let their hero die, the one who saved them last summer? Just like that?

Zoe outside now lowered her head and rested Percy on his back again. Just like back then while running, she had had this kind of vision again. Lupa had been in it and she had told Percy of his week spot. Percy had thought of his lower back and so she thought it was worth looking. If he was hit there, Lupa had said, there was no hope for him. Now with that thought, she slowly grabbed Percy's upper arm and squeezed it, ignoring the fact that she was getting bloody hands. Tears fell from her eyes freely now. She had tried to hold them back but it was impossible, knowing that he wouldn't wake up and tell her everything was going to be okay. She owed him so much and he was the first person she had felt connected to. He couldn't just leave her! Percy had been more like a big brother to her than Lit had ever been.

Gwen was still working. She too couldn't believe it and she tried her best to keep his heart going. But the poison was too strong and she couldn't heal his wounds really well with the poison still in it. She tried to bandage him but the blood would just soak through as if the poison had made it more liquid than usual. Percy's breathing was now barely there and his heart was getting weaker by the second.

"No…come on, don't leave me just yet." She whispered and tried to heal him again. He had her hand over his heart, when suddenly, his heartbeat wasn't there anymore. Gwen stopped breathing. And so did everybody else. The ones beside him and the ones in the cave. It was unnaturally quiet on the beach and Gwen was now almost praying to every god name she could call in her mind that his heart had just stumbled.

Then, out of nothing, Percy began coughing really hard. His free hand lifted itself and he clenched his fingers on his chest where his heart would be. He took a deep breath and his pulse rose as if he had just run a marathon.

All of them couldn't believe their eyes. They stared at Percy and Thalia breathed again first.

"H-how…?" she asked. Yeah, that was what they all wanted to know…

* * *

_He saw nothing but darkness around him. It was strange because he also felt like floating. Was this the Underworld? No, he had been there, it was much worse than pure darkness down there. _

"_Welcome again, my young hero. Sit down with me, will you?" a kind voice said from behind and when Percy turned around, there was the light of a flickering fire suddenly warming his face. There were two stumps of wood around it and on one of them there was a little girl, maybe eight years old, poking the fire with a stick. She looked up at him with eyes as red as the firelight. Percy almost immediately recognized her. And slightly bowed. _

"_Lady Hestia." He said and sat down next to her. Unlike with Hera, he had no problem bowing to her. Seeing the goddess made many pieces of memories come back and he knew that he liked this one. And just maybe, she had liked him too. Unlike many others of her siblings and relatives. The goddess now smiled a warm smile and shook her head._

"_Well that's new. Lupa taught you some manners I see. It's odd to see the rebellious Percy Jackson act like that." She poked the fire some more and Percy now smiled as well. _

"_I remember your siblings almost blasting me to pieces many times, maybe it was appropriate to learn how to control myself just a little." He admitted and stared into the flames._

"_Oh yes. That was indeed a wise decision to make." The goddess of the hearth nodded in agreement._

"_So…am I dead or what?" he decided to ask straight forward. Hestia's smile grew wider. _

"_And we have the old one back. No, you're not dead. At least not yet." She admitted and stopped poking the fire to look up at him. Percy gulped. Not yet? Well great. That meant he would be soon. He didn't want to know what Hades would do to him once he showed up in his territory. Percy recalled his Uncle didn't quite like him._

"_But." Hestia continued. "Actually, I may be able to help you out. My little brother has forbidden all of the gods to have contacts with our children. If I'm honest though, this decision of him was quite immature. I told him that but he wouldn't listen. So I decided to help you anyway. I kind of owe you. Do you remember?" she asked. Percy thought about it, his green eyes almost red in the firelight._

"_Yes…I…gave you this jar…something about hope…" he murmured and Hestia smiled. _

"_Yes. I see your memory is slowly returning. Good." She paused and exhaled slowly before continuing. "But I have to tell you that your life will be gone soon if we don't do something. You're been hit in your Achilles heel. You know what that means, right?" she asked and frowned. Percy nodded gravely and sighed. _

"_Yep. That means I'm pretty much done for." He summed up. Styx. If he was honest, he didn't want to die yet. He had so much to do…As if reading his thoughts, Hestia answered._

"_Normally, maybe. But there are ways that can still help you out." She paused and looked at him directly now, tilting her small head. _

"_Do you remember what Lupa told you about your essence of power?"_

…

* * *

_Dudun. Yes. Hestia. You were right :). She's going to help out and woot, Percy's (hopefully) not dying! Nothing sure yet, he still has all those wounds...let's see what the miracle is, shall we? :3  
_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ His nose was too big! :)  
_

**_Next Question:_**** IN WHICH VOICE DID THE CYCLOPSE TRY TO SOOTH ANNABETH WHEN SHE WAS SEVEN AND TRIED TO FREE THALIA AND THE OTHERS?**


	81. Gaea's sadistic mindplay: Death

_May, 4th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ SmilingSim, blazerules34, impatientkid, olympusgirl12, Dragonfan47, PeaceLoveAndCheese**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Can't believe it's already Friday XD. This week passed too fast, mainly because of my birthday. Guys, I'm old now! T_T. Anyway. Have a little present for you. Extra long chapter this week. Man, this is getting too long...hope I'm not getting you bored too much...I have never read nor seen a fanfic this long...please tell me I'm not the only one this crazy...T_T.  
_

_But I think I'm going to end it the way I planned it to be. As long as I have readers, I'll keep going :) Thanks again for sticking with me, guys! I owe you so much *hug*  
_

_****__**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXXI**

**General POV**

„_The one I'm supposed to look for? You know what it is?" Percy frowned and looked at the goddess in front of him. Lady Hestia nodded slowly, smiling. _

"_Yes, that one." She confirmed and then continued. "And of course I do. Poseidon is my little brother. I know more about him than he possibly does himself." She smiled a warm smile as if thinking of her brother right now and Percy averted his eyes, trying to picture his father's face. What came to mind was a tanned fisherman with a fisher's hat, Bermuda shorts and a Hawaii shirt that smiled at him. But it was soon gone again, making Percy's frown deeper._

"_But…even if you know and you would be so generous to tell me, how would that help if I'll die anyway?" he suddenly wondered and looked up at Hestia again. The goddess just continued smiling as if she found his question somehow amusing._

"_Oh, that's a good question actually. See, since you're hurt in your Achilles heel, you will die if you're hit there without an exception, right?" Percy nodded quickly so she continued. "But there is a way to go around that. If you take away the curse in the split second between the hit and the wielder's death." She explained. Percy gasped. That was logical, actually. But there was one problem…he vaguely remembers bits of when he got this curse or blessing or however you wanted to call it. There was a black river and a boy also wearing black. Then there was this ghost and it had told him not to try it, that it was impossible to revise. _

"_Achilles said that was impossible…so how can you even do that?"_

"_Actually, Achilles is supposed to say that. He appeared at the Styx to get people from trying to bath in it. As a consequence, only those who are determined enough do try it in the end. Well, in case they make it that far in the Underworld. You had some useful help I'd say." She smiled and Percy returned it. It was only a faint memory but he thought that this boy in black was actually close to him, even if in that moment, he had been mad at the guy. Hestia quickly continued. Percy remembered she said something about that they had little time. "Anyway. There are in fact two ways to take that curse or blessing away. The first is to bath in the river Tiber near ancient Rome. Since it's a Greek blessing, you wouldn't be able to enter the Roman's ancient capital with it. New Rome is a little different in that way since it's for demigods. The other way though is that a god or goddess helps you with it. He or she can take away the curse and quickly replace it with another blessing. You know of the blessing of gods, right?"_

"_Yeah. I think I do." He said and vaguely saw a picture of a brunette girl that seemed really angry and somehow glowed red with strength. _

"_And since that would not be enough to save your life with the many wounds you received, I would also tell you about your essence of power. Taking the curse away is risky. I never actually tried it to be honest and I don't know how harsh the Styx is with payback if it comes to this. I know it's really strict if you vow on it but I'll try and assure my brother that this is necessary. I'm sure he'll think about it." Percy was not so sure. If she was talking about Hades, he recalled his uncle didn't like him very much. But he just hoped the goddess was right and he would listen to his big sister. _

"_This is risky for you too, isn't it?" Percy asked carefully. At that, Hestia suddenly began to chuckle. _

"_Oh, you're too kind. You're really your father's child, Perseus. Always worrying about others instead of yourself. No, I'll be fine. It may be risky to avoid my brother's orders but I did him too many favors and he cannot argue against me really well. Too many things to hold against him in this matter. And taking the curse away…I think it should be alright. Don't worry about it." She said as if closing the matter. Percy watched her carefully. To be honest, she really seemed pretty calm about it. He hoped that she was right. Then he thought about if any other god would have taken this risk for him. He decided that no, none would have. Except his father…_

"_Why isn't Poseidon helping me. I mean, not that I don't like you or anything…" he quickly added since she lifted an eyebrow. But she didn't seem to mind and just shook her head. _

"_I understand. But he can't. Zeus knows you're out here and that your father would do anything to help you, to talk to you. So he stands under strict and fulltime watch from our little brother. I guess the same goes to the other gods and goddesses who have children in the prophecy this time. But I don't have children. Zeus trusts me with the hearth but otherwise, I'm often pretty unoccupied." She admitted. Soon after though, she put the stick in her hands aside and stretched a little. _

"_So, savior of Olympus. Will you take the risk?" she asked and Percy nodded really quickly. She smiled at his eagerness. _

"_Fine." Her red eyes closed and she leaned forward to reach for his forehead. Two of her fingers touched him there and she then was suddenly behind him and stroked her fingers down his neck to his back to where he remembered his mortal spot to be. While she did, his skin felt like she was pulling open a jacket, where underneath, he felt a lot more pain than with the skin he had before. There, on the opposite of his navel, his skin tingled like thousands of volts shot through his body but as Hestia touched him there, the pain suddenly dimmed down until it was just as subtle as if she was touching his skin on any other part of his body. The son of Poseidon looked down upon himself. He looked perfectly normal but somehow, when you looked closer, he seemed to have a faint orange-red glow to him and he felt a little warmer inside. _

"_That's my blessing. You should look like this as well now in on the outside." She sat down next to him again and sighed. Obviously, she was a little tired but ignored it. "My blessing isn't like that of Ares you witnessed. I'm the goddess of the hearth so I don't really offer power. But I can give you the ability to strengthen bonds for a few minutes. You and your friends will be able to fight as a true team, Keto will look like nothing. Then again, you'll probably have to do the main work. And you want that, right?" she asked and again, Percy nodded. _

"_Of course. That beast won't see another day if I can help it." He admitted and grabbed inside of his pocked for his sword. Hestia lifted a hand to make him stop though. _

"_Listen first. I have to tell you about the essence." She said. Percy sat down again after starting to stand up and looked at the goddess eagerly. And so Hestia began to explain._

"_Your father Poseidon is the middle son of Rhea and Kronos. When the three took out our father, they divided the earth by gambling out the parts. Poseidon received the sea even though he always wanted to rule the sky. Hades was the eldest so he wanted to rule as well but they both stepped down because fate said otherwise. Poseidon always says he wants to rule but I think secretly, he only means he wants to have the command, not the rule over the sky. Only after a few years, maybe even after days, he adapted to the task of ruling the ocean really fast. It's changeable and stubborn just like him. It can adapt to many things but also be severely destructive. You, Percy, have used your father's power over water pretty often already. But I don't know if you noticed…your fighting style is pretty offensive. You like to be at the front and you like to lead your friends into battle, to be the one in charge. Even though last summer, you were a little uncomfortable with it, during the time period of peace after the war, you got used to it. Your aura changed and you got more self conscious. Don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing. I actually think that your skill to unite your friends to one goal is really useful and necessary. But when you were brought to the Castra Roma by Hera, my little sister didn't have only one goal. She also wanted you to understand that in the next prophecy, you won't have the leading part. Just like your father, you were born to lead and to fight. But just like him, you may have to serve at some point too. Not in a mindless way of course. But there can only be one leader. And I think you know who that is supposed to be." She studied him closely. Percy listened carefully and as soon as she finished that sentence, the son of Poseidon nodded slowly. _

"_Jason, the son of Jupiter." He said almost in a whisper. Somehow, it was logical. A son of Zeus or Jupiter, the ruler of the sky. But he had the feeling that he won't like that. Hestia seemed to see his expression and smiled knowingly. _

"_Yes, I thought you wouldn't like that answer. But that's not all. You have to understand that there is power in every position, not just in the leading part. Your father understood that many years ago. He has his own palace down in the deep and in his way, he rules his own territory. Roman soldiers are taught to think that way very early. Lupa wanted you to see that. When you fight and you want to wake your full potential, don't just take the offence without thinking. Water is not an entirely offence element. It supports, it cleans but it can also hurt you. You are a loyal demigod, Percy. I know you can understand what I mean, right? In the prophecy of seven, you will bring them together as one, you will help Jason to do his duty and you will be able support them properly in case of trouble. Don't worry, you are not forced to fight in the defense. I know that's mostly not your nature. But you have to know your time and place better. In the past years, many things went wrong because of your temper going through with you. The ocean is calm and it is rough. But as your father decides what it is like, you have to decide how to act and not let your temper control you. In a fight that would mean…well, as Lupa would phrase it, 'Every soldier has his position in a legion and the importance of his actions is determined by the outer circumstances.' Do you understand?" she finished and studied Percy's face again. It took him a while to take in that information. First, he wanted to admit that he didn't understand a word but what Hestia explained actually did make sense…a-at least part of it. So he nodded slowly. _

"_I-I guess…" he said and smiled an unsure smile at the goddess. She seemed to understand and looked down into the flames again. Percy followed her gaze and his heart almost stopped. There in the fire, he could see the battle scene and it was looking pretty bad. Reyna, Bobby and Hazel tried to hold Keto desperately while Gwen, Dakota and Zoe were at his side, all of them looking pretty shocked and even heartbroken. He saw his own body and winced. Gods, he looked really bad…he hadn't realized how many wounds these tentacles had given him. Then suddenly, his body gasped for air and he coughed. Hestia beside him nodded._

"_It's time for you to go back." She said as Percy stared at the picture further. He was being pulled towards it. Then suddenly, the picture changed and he saw the face of a familiar blonde with red eyes, tears streaming down the side of her face. She seemed broken inside and the teenager felt his lips move._

"_Annabeth.." he whispered and didn't realize that his actual body was saying that too. As Percy turned to Hestia to thank her for everything, Annabeth inside that cave gasped. _

"D-did he just…? Thalia, tell me I didn't dream that." She commanded and Thalia nodded, just as shocked.

"No, you didn't, I heard it too." She confirmed and almost had to smile. She didn't want to spill to Annabeth that it didn't have to mean anyting since he was still unconscious but of course the huntress didn't say that out loud. She wasn't that cruel.

In contrary to that, Dakota seemed upset.

"What? Again? Who is that bitch he's always mumbling about in his sleep? I've never heard of an Annabeth at the Castra, have you?" she stared at Gwen but the daughter of Apollo knew well enough to ignore her. The healer leaned over the unconscious boy in front of her and heard his quick heart beat. She lifted an eyebrow and shook her head as if she couldn't believe it. Then suddenly, Percy's hand moved. He clenched it to a fist and the other one squeezed Dakota's. None of them had noticed the strange glow to him yet. Annabeth in the cave did and she was already discussing with Thalia what it could be, when Grover suddenly shot awake and bumped his head into Leo's.

"Strangest dream…"he mumbled and looked around him.

"D' I miss s'thing?" the Satyr asked and yawned.

"Yes, your consciousness, stupid Satyr…" Leo hissed together with some offensive curses in Greek while he rubbed his head. Thalia and Annabeth shot them a quick glance but decided that Grover had to see for himself so they looked outside again, where Percy had just begun to move again. Suddenly, he let out a scream of pain and grabbed for his chest, almost scratching his fingers into his skin. Annabeth winced. Obviously, he had his feelings back. And with this many wounds, that probably wasn't really comfortable.

"Oh no…get him to the water! Quick, to the water! Come on…it will cure him…just drag him there, a few meters!" she almost yelled at the stone wall. The water was able to heal him, how could they not know that? This was probably the only chance to help him and they didn't take it. Out of nothing, between the panicing Gwen and the soothingly talking Dakota, Zoe looked up. She didn't let go of Percy's arm but she was now staring at the stone behind her with clear eyes. And her dark ones pierced directly into Annabeth's grey ones as if she could see her. The young girl's face was shocked as if she hadn't realized that somebody was there before but she caught herself soon enough.

"The water you say?" she asked quietly, her lips barely moving. Annabeth could understand her though. Out of shock, her eyes forgot how to spill tears and she quickly whipped them away.

"Yes. He's a son of Poseidon, it'll heal him." She said loadly, hoping that Zoe could hear her. The mortal just nodded and turned away again, even though she seemed to want to stare a little longer. She had sure noticed that it was strange there was a talking stone wall but she had felt that somebody was there, even if she wasn't really able to see somebody. She pressed Gwen's arm and stopped her from healing and trying to get Percy to stay still. The son of Poseidon was struggling with pain from his wounds and the poison. His forehead was burning up and he seemed to want to strip himself because his temperature was rising so much.

"We have to get him to the water. Maybe it can heal him." She stated. Dakota stared at her.

"What, are you crazy? That is salt water! Won't that just make it worse?" but despite the freaking Dakota, Gwen just nodded.

"Yes…yes, that's even possible. It would be really odd but it could be…as a son of Poseidon…come on, we have to at least try. Help me drag him." She calmly stated and all three of them lifted the struggling Percy from the ground and dragged him over to the water, where they gently put him down into the liquid. Almost immediately after he touched it, they witnessed some kind of miracle. Percy's body calmed down completely and as he submerged into the liquid, it seemed to be crawling over his skin by itself, soaking out the poison and healing his wounds as soon as it touched there. Seriously, it looked like in one of those movies where some characters could work magic healing, Dakota thought. Percy's breathing calmed down and as his face went under, the sweat disappeared from his forehead. Even though he normal didn't get wet, the salt water now soaked his clothes and hair. That looked pretty hot if Dakota was honest. But there was something else. Even though his face went under, he kept breathing without a problem, maybe even steadier than he breathed the air. Then, out of nothing and only after maybe a minute of lying in the water and the three girls staring at him, his green eyes shot open. It looked strange how he was positioned just underneath the surface and staring at the dark sky above him. With a gasp, he sat up and therefore shot out of the water. Just then, the three girls noticed that he seemed to glow. The son of Poseidon looked down upon himself, seemingly impressed by his completely fine skin (even though there were still some purple spots) and the holes in his shirt. Then he looked up at the others and began to smile slightly at their completely dumb faces. Shining like the lake under the now slowly rising sun, his eyes seemed to melt their fears away. Back in the cave, Annabeth let out a clear sigh of relief and almost collapsed in Thalia's arms. She mumbled several curses and called Percy offensive names and that was how her best friend knew she would be alright again soon.

"Hey um…I'm back!" Percy said and stretched out his arms. Out of the blue, Dakota punched him. She tried to sound angry.

"Don't be cocky, we thought you were a goner! This isn't something to joke about!" she almost yelled but couldn't hide her relief very well. Zoe grinned openly at him and Gwen seemed shortly before bursting into tears now because the whole time, she had been too concentrated with her healing.

"I…I thought I couldn't..I was so…" she stuttered and quickly whipped her eyes with her sleeves. Then she took a deep breath and calmed herself a little. "Sorry. It's alright, I…yeah, I'm fine. But I still don't understand how…" she asked unsurely and studied Percy's body a little closer. Behind the transparent wall, Annabeth thought about the same question. How did he do it? The wound on his mortal spot should have killed him. Not that she wanted that…there was no worse possibility in her life right now – but it was still odd. She didn't remember reading much about the curse of Achilles before Percy actually went and got it on himself. After that, the daughter of Athena had searched for ways to get rid of it. The war was over at that point and she had thought that in a normal situation, such a spot that bound him to his mortal life could be really dangerous to possess. And she had proved right. That wasn't the point here though. The point was, that she hadn't found much about removing the curse. Just one thing that was partly ripped out of a book she had held in her hands. As she had been searching for the rest of the article, the book miraculously disappeared from the table. Now that she thought about it, maybe Chiron had taken it, since he didn't want her to find out about things she wasn't supposed to know.

Outside, Percy pulled out his pen and held up his hand. Still glowing slightly, he turned it into his sword and addressed his friends.

("Oh wow! I need a sword like that. Where'd he get it?" Leo nearly hyperventilated.

"It was a gift from his father. It's unique." Annabeth stated with a calm voice while still leaning onto Thalia.

"Didn't you find yourself a kickass sword in that cave?" Piper asked and pointed at the blade thing on his arm that was now transformed into a simple bronze arm plate. Leo shrugged.

"Still…" the son of Hephaestus pouted.)

"I'll explain later. Now will you help me take that thing down?" Percy asked and pointed at Keto, who was just now almost hitting Reyna with one of his tentacles. The daughter of Mars had to jump back several feet and landed next to the standing Percy. She gaped at him and suddenly smiled. Even she was relieved to have him back.

"Good. Now you can help me kick that thing back to Tartarus, _Perseus_." She added that last term sarcastically but Percy just shook his head at her.

"Of course, _Miss Preator_. My pleasure." He said and bowed with an ironic expression on his face. Reyna rolled her eyes but otherwise looked really glad for the help. They all turned to the monster now and Hazel plus Bobby dropped back to step into the legion cloud. Without any further instructions, the Romans took position and from their watching point in the cave, the Greeks watched how they acted as if they were one body, attacking with the little force they had left.

Percy's strength seemed to have been fully renewed. He was surfing on the water with his feet only, letting the water transport him anywhere while he fought with his water powers and such force that Annabeth asked herself if he had ever been able to summon that much in one fight.

"He's…different." Thalia stated, frowning. She couldn't quite place it but something wasn't the same with her cousin. He wasn't fighting in the front but also not playing defense. The son of Poseidon kept close to Reyna and seemed to act out of her shadow, surprising the monster but also managing to slowly cut down its tentacles one by one with the help of Riptide and its water power. At any point where one of his friends was close to being smashed, he was there and shielded them. Keto was in a rage. With this much tentacles gone, he slashed and breathed for them without control. Yuki on top of it had to grab for something because she was close to falling off with Keto constantly moving like that. At some point, when Percy blew a direct shot at the monster's head, Keto dodged but Yuki fell off. She flew in free fall and would have hit the water hard, smashing all of her bones. But despite the fact that this girl had been so rough with him, Percy caught her fall with a cushion he made out of water and Yuki came to a stand in the hip deep salt water.

"What have you done? I thought she was with the enemy? Just let her die, damn it…" Reyna stated and readied her weapon because she expected Yuki to attack. But the daughter of Khione just stared at Percy as if she couldn't believe it. Slowly but surely she got up and stared at him further. Her hand didn't even pretend to go for her weapon, a silver knife that somehow was familiar to Percy.

"Why…What am I doing…mother? Mother, who is this boy? He looks like the one in Annabeth's photograph, mother…" she murmured while approaching. Her hair and clothes were drenched with water but she kept approaching. Suddenly, Percy saw something moving behind her. His green eyes widened and he rushed forward.

"Yuki, DODGE!" he yelled and wanted to make her lower down. However, he was too slow. When he was only a few meters away, a spike from Keto's tentacles was impaled into Yuki's chest from behind. Blood sprayed all over the place, hitting Percy as well as Reyna, who had tried to hold him back from running. Icy blue eyes looked up at him after staring down at her chest in wonder.

"Percy….Jackson….beware….earth….goddess…" she breathed before the tentacle moved on and dragged her with it, drowning in the deep pools of salt water, her eyes never to see daylight again…

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_Dudun. Is this the death that's mentioned? Maybe? Mh...we'll see :D. What was with Yuki? Did Hestia make sense at all...I don't know if what I wrote there is plausible to anybody but me...XD. Please tell me if it's not 'cause then...yeah, then I'd have a problem, because I won't be able to explain properly...I'm such a retard ^^"_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ It was her Dad's voice :)  
_

**_Next Question:_**** WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME THERE WAS A FIRE USER CHILD OF HEPHAESTUS (before Leo)?  
**


	82. True Death to the Rescue

_May, 17th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ Abby-Jade-Love, SmilingSim, olympusgirl12, Dragonfan47, impatientkid, olegnAiDociN, dragonbrain**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_I-I'm so terribly sorry...I can't describe how sorry I am. T_T _

_Trust me, I really wanted to update and I really wanted to write but I just have no freaking time! University is eating up all of my free time and I can't really help it since, you know, that's kind of my future at stake there XD. So yeah, I'm pretty much in stress. Since I'm such a conscientious person, I make myself worry about how I'm supposed to submit two chapters a weekend but then again I have to remind myself that it is still a hobby and I shouldn't stress myself out. So, I will of course continue to submit, for the time being it will just be slower. That rule was established during my free two months in February and March so I guess I have to adjust my standards to university-time. I'm really sorry about this again but if I don't, it'll only end up in personal stress and I'd stop writing due to it, which won't be much better, right?_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXXXII**

**General POV**

Percy couldn't help but stare. Just before his eyes, Yuki was dragged underwater and probably dead by now. His muscles were in shock. Even if that girl had tortured him up there, she had been different these last seconds. Had she been possessed by something? What in Hades was happening here? And who was the earth goddess? Too many questions blocked his mind so that he was nearly numb and unable to proceed with the fight. That was until Hazel knocked him back into reality.

"Hey, Dumbass! Wake up damn it, we're in the middle of something here. Weren't you in kickass mode just two seconds ago?" she approached him and even though she was in water,s he seemed fine about it. Then she suddenly slapped him and Percy stared at her as if she was from outa space.

"W-what was that for?" he asked, completely baffled. Hazel rolled her eyes at him, obviously annoyed.

"For falling asleep during battle." She teased and then even smiled. And Percy had the feeling even she was happy to see he was alright. He grumbled and pouted as a response.

"You're insufferable, Brainiac."

"Hey, watch what you say." Hazel immediately countered, glaring at him with deadly eyes. Okay, he should keep down the teasing with her. Maybe he was too used to arguing with smart girls that actually liked being teased? He shook off the thought and had to sigh. Annabeth was in danger somewhere…he just knew it. Somehow, he had to find her.

Right now though, he had to focus, Hazel was right about that. His hand closed tightly around Riptide and he took a deep breath before turning around slowly.

"You're history now." He decided, glaring at the monster with his best deadly glare he could offer.

("Whoa. It's like he's glowing with rage." Leo commented. Annabeth shook her head at his comment. They had all been shocked with Yuki's sudden death but the daughter of Athena was quickly to catch herself again.

"It's a blessing." She explained. Up until now, she hadn't been sure but now that she thought about it, it was pretty clear which goddess was at work here, which one had helped them out ever since they had left Camp.

"Of which god? Doesn't look very aggressive to me." Jason asked, raising his blonde eyebrows at the architect, who had to smile. Yeah, aggressive wasn't really the right word to describe her, after all.

"Hestia." She simply said, the smile still on her face and she unfolded her hand, stroking the sweat away and showing her palm to the others. There was a small flame on it and it was glowing faintly in the dark cave.

"Where'd you get that?" Piper asked, obviously really confused now.

"She sent me a dream message in the car. This is also how I knew we had to get on this island." She explained and then shot a quick glance outside. "And I think she made me communicate with the mortal. I don't know…there's something about her that has to do with all of this. I don't think she's quite exactly like Rachel…" she mused and then sighed. "Hestia owes Percy, kinda. Also, she's one of the only goddesses possible to oppose Zeus without receiving severe punishment." All of them stared at Annabeth now, thinking about what she said.

"Well, the idea with the island was pretty useless of her then. We're trapped here." Leo said plainly and leaned back against the bars. Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I'd refine from making jokes of the only goddess who's willing to help us at all. Let's just hope Percy gets out of there alive, I'm sure he could help these two monsters for us before we get our strength back." Thalia snorted at this and folded her arms.

"Oh please, Annabeth. Come back to reality. If he's dying after we all lived through watching...THAT, I'm personally going to make Nico get me down to Hades and chase his soul for the rest of his and my immortal life." She said and glared in the direction of her cousin. Then she punched her best friend in the shoulder.

"AND since when are you relying on him? Weren't you the one who said he only lives because you get him out of situations? Well now you're getting _us_ out of a situation. He's with the Romans now, we would just make things more complicated than they already are." Annabeth rubbed her shoulder and glared at the huntress.

"But running into them right now would be far better than running into the Camp directly. Then they wouldn't be so many and we won't be at the disadvantage." She said but was countered by Jason, who shook his head thoughtfully. While they were talking, Percy and the Romans were attacking again, cutting down more tentacles by the second and making the water around the monster red to black in the process.

"No, it wouldn't change anything. By meeting us on a quest and us claiming that we know Percy, it could make them just leave him behind or with us. I don't know how much they trust him, it could ruin the whole plan. They'd think we're a trick by Gaea to deceive them.", he reasoned and Annabeth had to admit that she was stunned by these words. He was smarter than she had thought. Man, did this guy have any faults? He was strong, good looking and smart? No kidding, that kid was just too perfect. Really not her type of guy. And it made her suspicious. But no, she should stop thinking like that. He had proved to be on their side and Annabeth was pretty positive he had a good heart. It still wasn't the same as being with Percy though…she missed correcting him when he let out stupid comments. Or roll her eyes at him for some cocky jokes. She even loved how he played dumb all the time even if he indeed wasn't _that_ stupid. Long story short, she wanted Percy back as soon as it was possible. But Jason was right, they couldn't risk it. She hesitated for long, but finally sighed in defeat.

"Fine. I guess you're right." She said and turned away to place her palm on the transparent wall and watch her boyfriend fight outside while she was sitting here and watching him and he had no idea she was that close. It was still cruel, even if she was so damn glad he was okay. Plus, she didn't want to meet the pity in the eyes of her friends right now. And she knew it was there. They were all looking at her and some of them probably wondered how she could stand doing all this without breaking apart. Well, she couldn't. With his move, Gaea had proved to the daughter of Athena just how powerful she was and that she could play with her mind and heart all she wanted until she was completely crushed. If it hadn't been for Hestia, she probably would have been. That pain that went thought her when Percy had been lying right there, supposedly dead. Right in front of her eyes…no, that had been far worse than that time when she thought he was dead during their Labyrinth adventure. It had been torture not to know if he was okay or now but _knowing, seeing _that he was dead, probably down in Hades…no, she just couldn't stand that.

Just then, a terrible sound reached their ears. It was Keto, screaming her soul out as Percy was floating in midair, having cut her head off with Riptide and an additional water blade. Annabeth saw that Reyna was standing as if she had been throwing him together with Bobby. It was an odd sight, watching that gigantic monster, the supposed queen of sea monsters, crumbling to dust.

The floating Percy was soon caught by gravity again and, still covered in monster dust, fell out of the air into the water with tremendous speed. He landed in the water with a huge splash, that would have worried Annabeth if she didn't know that water couldn't hurt him. Still, she winced a little, as did her friends and the Romans outside. Gwen squealed, when Percy suddenly submerged next to her and had a grin planted to his face.

"And that's what a sea monster gets for challenging a son of Poseidon!" he yelled to nobody in particular and let his sword fly to the air just to catch it and put it back into his pocket. It was quiet for a second but then all Hades broke loose. Dakota lunged forward and hugged Percy just to plant a kiss on his cheek –which earned her a deadly glare from Annabeth which she of course couldn't see. Reyna clapped Percy's shoulder and even managed a smile while Gwen ran into knee deep water to join them and also hug Percy, in a different way from Dakota though. Zoe had tears in her eyes, as did Gwen herself and Percy had to assure them he was fine numerous times before they would finally calm down. Bobby and Hazel were rather distant but couldn't help but be relieved that it was finally over. Hazel, still not content with the fact that she was actually standing in water, walked back to the shore and asked Bobby to go and get their stuff from their camping place on the other side of the lake. Bobby agreed as the others were lost in laughing and talking about things. Reyna suggested they waited for Bobby and Hazel at the beach, which they did.

For Annabeth, it was really strange to watch them together. It brought back memories of their own adventures but also created a new kind of pain in her chest. She wanted to be with them so bad. No, she wanted to be with him so bad.

"We'll get there, Annabeth. I promise." Thalia tried to reassure her while the others had begun to relax in the cave and flexed their muscles since the spell seemed to wear off. Annabeth just laughed dryly at that.

"Don't promise something you can't keep, Thalia. I sure hope so but…well, there's no guaranty everything will go as planned." She admitted and lowered her gaze. Just then, Bobby and Hazel returned with the backpacks and the others prepared for departure.

"So, where to now, fish face?" Hazel asked and raised an eyebrow at Percy. The son of Poseidon kindly ignored her insult and frowned.

"I'm not really sure. But I guess we could start where I wanted to go next anyway. I'm sensing it's nowhere around the lake or the water in here…we should try and go for the salt plains we saw from the train. If the seal is drowned in white gold, it could as well be pure salt, right?" he suggested and in return got dumb stared from the others.

"Wow…never thought you actually did possess a brain. Alright, let's go then." Hazel admitted and this time even refrained from calling him stupid nicknames. With that, they simply walked off into the distance, leaving the Greeks in the cave to wonder what they were up to anyway.

"What do you think they are searching for?" Thalia asked Annabeth, who was still staring at Percy's back as he walked away, as if trying to ask him to return by telepathy. It didn't work, obviously. She then sighed and dropped back against the stone wall, her face throughout depressed.

"I…I'm not completely sure. We should get out of here first before discussing that. I don't think this would be a good place to do so."

"You're damn right with that, little brat." The voice of Kaka suddenly loomed through the cave and the goddess suddenly materialized next to her brother in front of their cave. She had a dirty smile to her face that made them all shudder a little.

"I bet Hestia's prettier than her. That's probably why she was fired." Leo whispered to Piper. Unfortunately, Kaka heard. She glared at Leo with murderous intend and raised her hand to attack. A fire blast was launched in their direction, big enough to fry Leo as well as Piper and maybe even Jason. Annabeth wanted to yell at them to dodge it but Leo was faster. He lifted his hand and voluntarily took the blast to it. The flames danced around his fingertips up his arm and then vanished while Leo slowly inhaled as if that had been an enormous blast of energy for him. Kaka stared at him wide eyed but soon caught herself.

"A fire user. Impressive. But you won't be able to protect all your friends and you don't have your full power back yet. Since the watching time is over and the plan was….disturbed, I received allowance to kill all of you." She said with a murderous smile and again raised her hand. The Romans were gone, they were all exhausted and Annabeth wasn't sure if the others had their powers back yet. She wanted to tell Piper to say something but all of them were interrupted by something really unexpected.

A shadow on the wall made a sudden move that caught Annabeth's eye. Then, maybe a split second later, Kaka was suddenly stabbed by a sword, the blade sticking out of her chest since she was stabbed from behind. None of them could see the wielder of the blade but Annabeth still knew who it was. Because there was only one person she knew who possessed a sword out of stygian iron…

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_Dudun. You waited for this, right? Told you he'd arrive ;P_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ 1666, Fire of London was correct :)  
_

**_Next Question:_**** WHAT DID PERCY USE TO DEFEND FRANK'S HOUSE AGAINST THE OGRES? **_(sorry to those who red this yesterday, I was so tired I forgot to write a new question...-_-")_


	83. What Gaea achieved

_May, 26th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ Dragonfan47, Posideon, olegnAiDociN, PeaceLoveAndCheese, readingqueen811, impatientkid, Crazydragon111, blazerules34**  
**_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Man, you're really loyal, honestly. I'm so thankful to have readers like that! T_T I could hug all of you, have all a hug! *hug*  
_

_Well yeah, I'm also glad Nico is there. It's awfully nice to write him, hopefully I didn't completely mess it up ^^. It's a long weekend, maybe I'll manage another chapter. I'm not promising anything though, I have much university stuff to do and my NYC-vacation is approaching really fast. I'm flying next weekend, so I may not make it. On the other hand, I could write on the flight so...let's see :D. Maybe next update is from NY XD.  
_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXXIII**

**General POV**

„Nico!" relieve poured out of Annabeth's voice. The daughter of Athena got up from her current position on the floor and got out her knife. Before Cacus, who still stood there, could recover from the shock, the daughter of Athena threw her bronze knife and nailed it directly in the middle Cacus' forehead, where he began to dissolve into dust while making a strange sound of pain.

"Who?" Jason asked, obviously pretty puzzled by what just happened to Caca and Cacus. But he also got up as quickly as he could and grabbed for his own sword, staring at the one in Caca's chest.

"What the heck? What's with that creepy shadow?" Leo asked and kept sitting on the floor just to stare at the moving shadow behind Caca, who was beginning to turn to dust. Golden dust was flying around the two monsters until the glitter cleared and a figure appeared behind it. It was a relatively young boy, maybe fourteen but with those rings under his eyes and the leather jacket that looked too big for him, he appeared far older than that. Which of course, he kinda was.

"Didn't she just say she was some kind of goddess? If all gods are defeated that easily, I totally get how Percy could defeat Ares, my father and those Titans." His voice was a little hoarse, maybe he got into his puberty vocal change while he was gone. But there was a satisfied smile on his face while he approached the gates and sliced his sword that was still covered in monster dust, through the place where the lock kept the door closed.

"Very funny, Nico. I bet _you_ would have peed your pants trying to fight Kronos.", Thalia Grace commented and was the first to walk out of the cage and punched Nico right in the shoulder.

"Couldn't have appeared any time sooner, could you? You just had to have your big moment." She said sarcastically, rolling her bright blue eyes.

"Nice to see you too, my dear cousin." Nico grumbled and pretended to be touched by Thalia's mockery.

"Of course, he just waited in the shadows until he didn't have to face her directly and could just stab her from behind.", Annabeth approached behind Thalia, collected her knife from the floor and stemmed her hand into her hip, stopping directly before Nico.

"Yeah, sure. What is it, pick-on-the-guy-who-just-saved-you day?", Nico complained and got Annabeth to roll her eyes at him before stiffing a laugh and suddenly hugging him.

"Oh come here. I'm glad you're alright, thanks for coming." At first, the son of Hades seemed stunned but he quickly returned the hug. If he was honest, it was nice to see his friends again after spending so many days with just ghosts around. Percy's disappearance had hit him really hard, since the guy was like a brother to him and it was terrible to live with the fear that any second, he'd receive that tug in his ear again, telling him that somebody close to him died like he felt with Bianca. He wouldn't be able to handle that and just a few moments ago, he had indeed felt it approaching. It had been terrible, like death was creeping towards Percy's soul but something kept it from actually taking it. Then the feeling was gone and even if Percy's soul was obviously safe, Nico had felt completely terrible. He hadn't been able to do much more than sit on a stone in the Underworld and stare at the floor in shock. His almost dark eyes were widened beyond the ways possible and he panted as if he woke from a nightmare –which was actually a pretty accurate description of what he just experienced. Bianca had been with him and even though she was dead herself, she had felt it too.

"_This can't be good...you have to get up there. You have to help them with the quest, Percy just won a war, he's far too young to die." His sister said and tried to place her transparent hand on his shoulder. Nico finally awoke from his shock and stared at her now. _

"_But…there's no way the situation down here will allow me to leave. And I don't even know where they are!" he cried out, grabbing his black locks with his fingers. Just when he said that, his mind suddenly went black. Three letters appeared in his mind, written in red, warm flames and the face of a child briefly appeared in the firelight. Only one second, but Nico had enough to know who that was when he got back to Bianca and the Underworld. _

"_My Lady…SLC…?" he whispered and Bianca, who had just opened her mouth to speak, blinked rapidly. _

"_W-what?" she asked and stared at her brother as if he had lost his mind. But Nico was at his feet already. _

"_I know where they are. Can you handle the situation alone?" he questioned, his legs about to jump in the next shadow he could find. Bianca was still confused, but she nodded, her transparent form floating in mid air. _

"_Yes. I was just about to say that. Until you find Percy, I shall take care of it. And I may try to get father back from Olympus, he may be listening to me. I'm not promising anything though, you know how he is." She smiled at him and Nico nodded at her knowingly before turning around and letting the shadows surround him._

Back in the present, Annabeth let him go again and Nico looked around, noticing the others. He bumped fists with Grover and then raised his eyebrows at the other three he didn't know.

"Who're you three? I don't think I've seen you before…" he narrowed his intense brown eyes. Jason wanted to open his mouth but Annabeth interrupted him before he could do so.

"Wait, we first have to get out of here. Kick the dust around a bit and we will go as far as we can away from here. Agreed?" she eyed the forms of the monsters, who were already reforming again. They kicked around the remaining monster dust and afterwards speeded out of the cave as fast as they could make it with their muscles still a little lame and awkwardly stiff. Luckily, their car was still there so the seven of them just jumped in and Leo rode them down the road and off the island. While they were catching their breath, Jason introduced himself as well as Piper and Leo. Nico, who was sitting next to Thalia, raised an eyebrow at her cousin.

"You had a brother?" he asked and studied her face. "Interesting.", he concluded after Thalia gave him a short nod as an answer, as if the huntress didn't want to talk about it. Nico didn't press the topic though, he was after all well aware how it was to lose a sibling, even –no, especially- when you were younger. He could see in Thalia's face that it was a difficult topic for her. Even though he always appeared distant, Nico wasn't that oblivious when it came to emotions. In fact, last summer at camp and with Percy and the others had been really good for him. His father had began to treat him better, he came to the meals at Camp and even took some sword lessons from Percy, seeing as he saw the guy in action and he realized that compared to him, he had much work to do.

"So..I still don't know exactly who you are?" Jason finally asked after Nico and Thalia had been quiet a few seconds. Nico, still in thought, looked up in surprise and shot Annabeth a quick irritated glance.

"You mean Annabeth didn't tell you about me? I'm Nico di Angelo, son of Hades." He said and even went for a small smile. Then he frowned and looked back at Annabeth with a fake hurt expression on his face.

"Seriously, Annabeth. You left out the cool son of Hades who saved all of your butts so many times and who has the coolest powers of all?" he shook his head disappointingly but Annabeth just snorted.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Nico." She countered in a cool tone and leaned her blonde hair back onto the cool window where her breath left little traces on the glass. Her mind was certainly elsewhere and since she normally returned the mockery, Nico was quite irritated.

"From what's I've seen today, I'd say nothing can beat Percy's powers when it comes to coolness. Though mine are out of league anyway, needless to say. Though I'd rather describe them as hot, not cool." He grinned and Nico turned his head to the son of Hephaestus.

"Yeah, Percy's are pretty- wait, _see_? What in-" but he stopped himself out of pure realization and his head turned to Annabeth really slowly. Her expression had changed. She didn't look dreamy any more. Her grey eyes stared out into the moving landscape with a mixture of sadness and longing. Nico didn't know why but he knew what had to have happened.

"Oh no she didn't…Not seriously? He was…and you all…" the son of Hades couldn't continue talking. Slowly but surely, his hands balled to fists and his hands didn't know if they should grab his curly hair or just hit anything in reach. It was quiet in the car and the others didn't have to say any more. Just from their expressions, especially from Annabeth's, he could conclude, what Gaea had done. For some reason, Percy had been here –well he had already known that but the shadow had brought him to the cave so he had assumed he was supposed to help the others first, not Percy. Or see him soon. And somehow, Gaea had found a way to summon a threat to Percy, let him fight it, almost die and on top of that cruel cake, the topping was that Annabeth and his other friends had to watch him go down. Somehow, he did make it out but his girlfriend, who was now sitting with them, without Percy, even though she had seen him again today, was still broken. And if Nico was just thinking about having to watch whatever horrible thing brought Percy so close to death, his heart was aching too. How must Annabeth feel right now?

"I swear in the name of my father and any god I've ever met…if I one day meet that cursed piece of crap of a goddess, I'll make her pay for toying with us like that…" he said slowly and quietly but still so loud that everybody could hear it over the noise of the car. Thalia and several others nodded in agreement.

"Normally, I'd tell you to watch your language, Nico, but you're damn right. Maybe she wanted us dead there but all she really succeeded in today was make us really, really angry at her." The daughter of Zeus balled her fists and pressed her lips together. Her cousin nodded grimly and her brother somehow had to smile. It was strange, how this boy had just arrived here and immediately knew what was going on with his friends without them telling him anything. He didn't look like it but he seemed to be a pretty kind kid. But what was clear was that he was close to Percy. Jason didn't have to ask him about it to know. The way he looked told him that he _did_ want to ask about what happened and that he just didn't do it for Annabeth's sake, because he knew how she was probably broken right now.

They rode in silence for a while. Nobody had to say anything to make it clear that even though Percy was fine and the Romans were somewhere in the general direction they drove, the mood was pretty much at the bottom. While the sun began to rise on the horizon, Leo drove all around the lake, to any point they could possibly reach. It was a little frustrating that they didn't find anybody besides some crazy campers or homeless people. Luckily not any monster too but it was still not really helping their mood that they couldn't find the Romans even after they had been so close just a few minutes ago. Hours passed since finally, Leo stopped the car in a parking lot somewhere near the far south of the lake. As the motor came to a halt, the silence was so overwhelming it was hardly bearable. The son of Hephaestus in the front locked the car doors and then leaned back in his seat, sighing and stroking through his black curles. Finally, Jason was the one who couldn't stand the silence any more. His leading instincts told him he had to say something, even if everybody was going to hate him for it.

"Look, I know you're probably going to hate me for this but…we have to go on. What we saw today was the complete first legion plus a clear sighed mortal and Percy. Even though they had a hard time surviving, they did it. If we can't find them now, maybe we can reach San Francisco before they do and even if we don't, those are the people I knew best. I bet they won't just cut us down…or at least I really hope so." He coughed nervously because everybody was staring at him. It wasn't really the greatest feeling.

"Anyway…I think our goal should be to get to San Francisco. We have three children of the big three, including a son of Hades and two children of Zeus. Then we have a master strategist and knife wielder, the most powerful Charmspeaker there is, a master mechanic and a lord of the wild. Come on, we may stink over the whole country but we do have a reasonable chance. Salt Lake City is already three quarters on the way to San Francisco, isn't it?" there was silence that was making Jason really uncomfortable after saying all this. He looked at all of their faces and especially tried to catch Annabeth's gaze. Piper had grabbed his hand and squeezed it for support, which he really appreciated. Actually, the silence was just that long because they waited for Annabeth to talk. She was the one suffering from this experience the most, even though Percy was really awesome in the end, watching him go down like that without being able to do something had to be –to say the least- really hard. Finally, she took a deep breath.

"Yes. Yes, you're right. I'm sorry I was this absent, it's…I should really not act like this. I'm just really glad he's fine and we should just focus on our mission. Maybe we stay in the car for a few hours of sleep and then we go on west." The daughter of Athena concluded and sat up from her side leaning position to give Thalia next to her a tight hug and then redo her ponytail. All of them undid their seat belts and made themselves comfortable with the stuff they still possessed. Nico made himself a blanket out of his oversized jacket and Thalia her hunter jacket to Annabeth since it was pretty warm and Thalia was fine herself. So just like that, the very tired Greek demigods all fell asleep in the stolen car at the southern end of the big salt lake.

A few miles away, a triumphant laugh could be heard. Percy Jackson stood in the middle of a desert like landscape that was in fact made completely out of dried salt. The white gold. The other Romans stood a few feet away, keeping their distance because the son o Poseidon had told them to. He had felt some underground lakes underneath the surface and wasn't sure if walking on the salt was stable so he decided to go first, since he couldn't drown and all.

"This is it. This is where the seal of the ocean is buried." He said and grinned at his friends with a certain glimmer in his sea green eyes.

* * *

_Yep. That's it, they finally found the location. I tend to write Jason as if he was an ass...because if I'm honest, I don't like him. I see it like Annabeth in the first MoA chapter: He's too perfect. Anyway, sorry the chapter is pretty short :/  
_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ A hose on the roof was correct! :3  
_

**_Next Question: IN WHAT ANIMAL DOES FRANK TRANSFORM FIRST? _**_(I know it's easy but I don't have the books here and no clue what to ask xP)_


	84. Seal of the Ocean

_June, 8th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Heeyyy, Greetings from New York! :D The City is great, I really love it here even though the food is pretty expensive and I spend way too much money on clothes and books XDD. _

_So sorry there are no dedications this week but I haven't really got my books with me so there wouldn't be any question anyway. Please don't let me down on the reviews because of that, I need feedback, guys D:._

_About Mark of Athena Chapter: You can just google it, it's all over the internet, Youtube and even on here ^^. It's from Annabeth's POV and actually really awesome. _

_About the chapter: Back to the Romans again ^^. _

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXXIV**

**General POV**

Percy hadn't been quite aware that he would be so out of power. I mean, sure he knew that it was exhausting to fight with this new found power and to be almost dead but still, he had hoped to be able to hide it a little better than to just drop to his knees when they left the water.

"Styx." He cursed and reached for his backpack hurriedly while the others had stopped in their tracks and all stared at him.

"Fine. I'm fine." The son of Poseidon lied but still had Dakota and Gwen kneel next to him. The daughter of Venus just smiled kindly and shook her head.

"Stop being so stubborn. You fought amazingly and we almost lost you. Of course you're tired. Should we rest or something?" she asked and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, not sure if to hug him or to help him up. Percy himself felt a little uneasy about her touch and quickly shook his head while his hands had already applied the bottle of nectar to his lips, careful not to drink too much. After the liquid was poured into his mouth and a feeling of strength slowly returned to his muscles, he looked up at Dakota.

"No, no. Now that I know for sure, I don't want anything to interrupt us again. I have the feeling that the enemy is on our trail, we really have to go on." His reasoning was pretty accurate, so Reyna and the others didn't even try to protest. The brunette was still mourning over their fight and she wasn't sure how to think about it. After all, Percy had almost died and when he miraculously came back to life after that torture, he behaved completely different than before. Not that the others noticed, but Reyna did. Because the change was a matter of fighting manor. The stubborn son of Poseidon had let her lead, whom he had taken the lead from before where- and whenever he could. It had been strange, because at that very moment, he had radiated so much power and insurance that even though she didn't want to before, she would have let him lead this one battle to victory. She also wasn't sure if anybody else noticed the distant red shimmer around him that made him appear even more powerful.

So they continued marching, even though Percy was now leaning onto Dakota's shoulder slightly, which of course seemed to please her very much. The Soldiers didn't talk much, after all, they were all pretty much still in shock of what just happened and a few of them were wondering over several mysteries. Like why was Yuki so different when she died? Or who had been that voice that had appeared in Zoe's head? It was all a mystery and in secret, Zoe had wanted to help these people, whoever they were. But they couldn't. It was their mission to find this seal so they could protect all demigods. She didn't even tell Percy of the voice, because she was certain that he would want to go look for whoever had been on the other side of that stone wall. Plus, she didn't even know who it was, maybe it had been a trap? After these events, she wouldn't trust anybody she couldn't even see properly.

"This should be it." Percy finally announced when they reached a gigantic desert of pure salt stretching out in front of them.

"Wow…impressive. How did so much of this stuff get here?" Zoe asked and looked at Percy from the side. Smiling sadly, he turned to her.

"This was once part of the giant salt lake. The water decreased for many reasons. You have to know, humankind is in the process to destroy nature as it had been. This is one of the concequences." He sighed and the others nodded grimly. Man, that was horrible news! The daughter of Midas had thought that with all that new technology, they should be able to preserve their surroundings properly but that sounded as if it was just getting worse. Percy gazed over the giant desert and leaned down to feel the floor. He had let go of Dakota by then.

"This should be tricky…there are lakes underneath the water, little reservoirs of water that are hidden from the eye of any human who walks over them. But I think we're at the right location, I can sense something…" he spaced out but quickly shook his head. "You guys wait here, I'm going to take a close look if the surface is stable."

And so he looked around while the others waited for him. Finally, he found the spot and waved them all to come over to him. The teenager pulled out his sword but Gwen held his arm.

"Wait. You shouldn't use even more of your power, you're already exhausted." She advised before Percy shook his head with a broad grin.

"I wasn't planning to. This sword is special, you know. It has powers itself, I was going to use them instead of mine." He explained, loosening Gwen's grip around his arm. The healer frowned at that statement but let the topic go reluctantly. Raising his arm, Percy stabbed the floor beneath him with his sword. He motioned for the others to move back a bit as the floor began to crack and split open, water pouring out of it as if the ground had a fatal wound. The crack became bigger with the second until there was a whole big enough for a Pegasus or three people to jump through. The surface of the water was a little beneath the salt and it shimmered black because no light was getting there. If you looked closer though, you could see a slight blue-green shimmer far, far beneath the surface. Percy wasn't sure if the others could see it as well, because they weren't saying or reacting to it at all. The sun had begun to rise on the horizon but Percy ignored all that, looking at his companions.

"So…who wants to come with me?" he asked as if that was the most casual thing ever. The others stared at him as if he had just dropped from space.

"What? After what we just saw you want me to go alone? I could make a bubble so you can breath. I think I did that pretty often already…" his gaze drifted off but finally, he got his answer by Dakota and –surprisingly- Reyna, who said.

"Alright, I'll go." At about the same time. Percy, a little surprised, stared at the daughter of Mars. Quickly catching himself though, he nodded.

"Alright…then let's get that seal I guess. Two bubbles for the ladies!" he held out his hand to them and Reyna stared at it for a second.

"What? You want me to hold hands with you? You're kidding, right?" she asked, giving him her death glare.

"Yes, I'd suggest that, in fact. I might be able to keep you dry…in case you don't want to avoid the trouble of drying off your clothes, you can swim on your own of course…" he grinned and reluctantly, Reyna grumbled and took his left hand while Dakota grabbed his right without asking about it further. Bobby glittered his teeth but didn't say anything further.

Percy jumped in the water and the other two were forced to go down with him. As they hit the liquid, indeed, none of them became wet. Dakota thought it was a strange feeling but she looked over to Percy and as far as she could make out under the water, he was concentrating pretty hard. Then suddenly, bubbles appeared all around them and a giant one enflunged all three of them until it was completely closed and the three of them could breath properly. Even though she didn't want to, Reyna was pretty impressed and her hand flew over the surface of the bubble while Percy made it go further into the deep water.

"Wow…that's really amazing, Percy.", Dakota breathed and Percy smiled at her as a thanks for the compliment.

"There, I see it." He said and pointed down into the deep waters. The two girls next to him squeezed their eyes to see better but none of them made out anything.

"What do you mean? I don't see anything." Dakota exclaimed and looked over to Reyna, who also shook her head.

"But that blue shimmer…you really don't see it?" when the others shook their heads again, the son of Poseidon finally shrugged it off. Their bubble made its way closer to the target until finally, the other two gasped. Two meters before them, a blue sphere floated in the dark water. It was made of a small, shimmering ball shaped form that seemed to change right before their eyes. Once, it was a storm and the other second it was a miniature ocean with crashing waves all around the sphere.

"Dear gods, it's breathtaking!" Dakota exclaimed and rubbed her eyes to check if she was perhaps just dreaming. But she wasn't, it was there. The seal of the ocean, clearly. Suddenly though, forms began to shimmer around them, presenting several creatures that looked like water maidens. Percy, who had been kneeling in the bubble, now stood and bowed formly, making Reyna and Dakota stare at him even further. Did the stubborn and blunt Percy Jackson just…bow? What in Hades?

"_My greetings, young demigods. For thousands of years, nobody has dared to approach this distant lake and for the same amount of time, nobody had searched for the power of this seal which is so dangerous to possess."_ One of the Naiads said. It was no surprise that only Percy was able to understand them, since he was the only one able to communicate with them. He nodded and then smiled at them, even though the three or more spirits had stern faces. They were dressed in old fashioned dresses and all talked Greek in his mind, making him assume they had lived down here for a very long time.

"_We are well aware that it might be dangerous but we still need to take it with us. Our Camp won't be save without this seal protecting it."_ Percy explained. The Naiads raised their eyebrows at him, looking him over and then their faces softened a bit.

"Ah, a son of Poseidon, aren't you? Well well, very wise of the camp to send you of all people. You may try to take it. But remember this, you have only one try and only a true hero is able to retrieve it from its original position. Once upon a time, it was placed here to keep away evil from using it against the Olympians. Bringing it out in the world could mean war." The nymphs warned. Percy just laughed dryly though.

"Oh don't worry. We already are at war." He said and let the bubble get closer to the seal while he explained what the Naiads said to the other two. His face was starting to look a little unsure, which was unlike him. Then again, Dakota mused if he had begun to adapt to the acting most of the Romans did about how they felt and everything. It was just subtle but he often tried to hide how scared he really was, as if he didn't want them to know so they could lay their faith in him. That behavior alone told Reyna, who saw it in his gaze as well, that he had been a leader before. Even as a Greek, he had had to lead something that was of importance to him and the people he knew. Where there more Greek demigods? But that wasn't her concern right now, it was Percy speaking while staring at the seal before them.

"So…who wants to touch it?" he breathed out slightly nervous. They only had one shot, so It was logical to be nervous about it. Dakota wanted to open her mouth but despite her expectation, Reyna was the one to answer faster.

"Well you, obviously." She said and shrugged as if that was totally clear and nothing to argue about. Her two companions stared at her in shock and Percy had to collect himself before he was able to answer.

"Er….thank you but…may I ask you why?" he stuttered and frowned visibly. First, Reyna just looked at him and studied his face but then she finally sighed.

"Because I think you're actually pretty brave and fought really well back then. Maybe even…you know, Hero-like…" she admitted and the other two were able to see how uncomfortable she was while doing so. Still, Percy's face softened and he smiled at her. He seemed a little more relaxed thank before, his hands resting at the bubble's surface gently without clutching them to fists. Suddenly though, he lifted his right hand and made a salute, which looked kinda ridiculous on him somehow.

"Thank you, Captain Reyna, for your trust in this important matter. I will take the compliment with honor to our heritage and pledge our goal with these my heroic hands." He declared with a swollen voice and face british accent. Reyna punched him in the shoulder for it and he winced but Dakota had to laugh. Soon, Reyna joined in a little with a small chuckle and then tried to resume her serious face. The daughter of Venus admired this as well about him. He made others cheerful, even in the most dire situations and even those that were like Reyna, who normally never really laughs. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen Reyna laugh ever since Jason disappeared. It had been cruel days for her indeed. But that didn't matter right now because Percy was now closing the bubble around the seal. The object seemed to react to Percy's powers or presence because it was now glowing a little brighter.

"Very wise choice." A Naiad said.

"Yes. The son of Poseidon will probably be the only one able to touch it anyways. We were told that the wielder has to possess the power of the seal's realm combined with human blood of honest heritage. If you have all that, son of the sea god, I dare you to take the seal and be on your marry way." The second one almost sang. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously? Like, you won't turn into monsters and try to keep us from leaving?" he asked while grinning. Since the Naiads didn't seem to get the joke, he dropped the topic and cleared his throat loudly. Finally, the son of Poseidon took a deep breath and closed his hand around the seal from both sides. For a short and horrible moment he thought that he would pass through but then, he seemed to touch something solid almost, more like a half solid liquid that was shaped like a sphere. The slightly glowing water swirled around inside of the little ball but it kept it's form somehow anyway, stying in Percy's hands.

"Very well. I hoped nothing else from the son of our ancient king. Be well, demigods and use the power wisely." The second Naiad said before they both disappeared into the darkness again. Still holding his breath, Percy turned their bubble around and let the thing resurface before any sea monster could arise to stop them and ruin all of their plans or Percy's bubble. Holding this thing was really strange. He felt the power searching through him but also sugging something from somewhere near his gut as if the seal was checking out his insides for something evil or corrupted, something it could feed on or turn against. The teenager didn't want to admit it but this little thing was frightening. He could understand why it was so powerful and valuable and why he may be good for holding it. Not that he wanted to offend them but none of the other Romans would have been able to hold themselves together. This thing had unimaginable powers over all things connected to the sea and his father's realm. If he didn't know how dangerous and powerful that was and If he didn't possess some of the power himself, the thing might have gotten him power hungry. It wasn't difficult after all. As soon as his hands closed around it, he had known how to use it, how to create things he had never imagined before. But he couldn't. And he knew that. Maybe, just maybe that was the reason that he decided to keep it to himself. Somehow, that thing reminded him of what he remembered from the story for Lord of the Rings. Not that he had read it. No, he wasn't really the book type. Maybe Annabeth had told him about it? Yes, something told him Annabeth loved reading to the core, let alone the scenes in his memories when she had a book with her practically everywhere.

Anyway, if this was the ring, he would be the wielder. And the journey back to San Francisco could be just as difficult and dangerous as the way to Mordor…

* * *

_Don't worry, this isn't going to be like LotR at all. I didn't even read nore really like the books (don't kill me now pls ._.). All I know is from the films and I didn't even pay attention there XD. Btw, it's cool that I'm not the only one not really liking Jason xP. Nobody replaces Percy! x_x. Sry that Naiad reasoning is probably really confusing? I tried to make it clear somehow but my head just sprouds crazy ideas sometimes...hehe xP And writing with Jetlack is somehow confusing for myself too...XD_

**Hope you enjoyed, please tell me what you think! :3**


	85. His Girlfriend

_June, 26th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

******Chapter dedicated to: **_olympusgirl12, PeaceLoveAndCheese, Dragonfan47 , impatientkid_**_  
_**

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Aand I'm back from New York. And I'm so incredibly sorry this story has gone practically dead in the last weeks T_T. I just got so little reviews last time, was demotivated, then the stress came and I had no time to write anyway...well, I still don't have, this chapter took me a whole week if not even longer. Creepy, I normally need two hours for this much T_T. _

_Anyway, hope you're still sticking with me! *puppy eyes* Pretty please? I promised I won't stop so I won't and since some of you are waiting for it, I present you some love drama! ^^ I'll stop talking now so you can read._

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXXV**

**General POV**

For a ring wielder, Percy felt pretty screwed up. When they finally found a rest outside of Salt Lake City, he dropped to the ground in his self-made bed like he hadn't rested an entire month. Well it sure felt like that at least.

Gwen was working on the others' wounds and she moved as if she had 55 arms attached to her body. Reyna was resting against a tree and Zoe was sitting next to Pery, asking him some questions about the modern world. Dakota was wandering around camp and helped Gwen treating wounds. Hazel was pacing around, making Percy all dizzy in the head with her unsteady movement. Bobby on the other hand had moved over to Reyna and was talking to her so quiet Percy couldn't understand them.

"So, you basically screwed up the planet?" Zoe summed up what Percy just told her about the polluted nature. Dakota was ready helping Gwen so she dropped on her sleeping bag right next to Percy's, crossed her legs and tried to join in the conversation. Zoe smiled at her and continued.

"What about Pan? He used to take care of stuff like that, right?" she asked, frowning.

"You mean like Faunus?" Dakota threw in and smiled, obviously happy she caught up so quickly. Percy looked between the two of them and frowned on his own, thinking hard about what they said about the god of the wild.

"No." Percy suddenly concluded and his face was dead serious, as if this was dreadful news, which they pretty much where. "The God Pan has faded last year."

Dakota and Zoe stared at him completely puzzled and suddenly, Hazel was there, dropping to the floor so close to Percy that he flinched and robbed away from the daughter of Minerva.

"What? How would you know that, he was missing for about 2000 years, wasn't he?" she asked, her face blank but still interested. Was she trying to get something out of him that would sell him out? Not that he was hiding something but Hazel thought he was so it sure looked like it. The son of Poseidon tried to keep a straight face while looking at her and not appear offended by her obvious suspicion.

"I know that because I was present when it happened, Hazel." He stated with a cool voice, his green eyes gleaming with what he hoped showed he wasn't lying. The daughter of Minerva returned his gaze with squeezed eyes and she didn't let go until finally, Dakota was interrupting their 'staring contest'.

"Well that's sad. I always kinda liked that god with his Fauns and everything. I met a few of them, they're nice creatures, even if they just show up at camp for the feasts and some rituals." She said, either completely oblivious to their bad mood or interrupting them on purpose. Percy assumed it was the last one because she shot Hazel a warning gaze before she quickly turned back to Percy as if nothing happened. Hazel just got up again quickly but kept looking at the son of Poseidon with a murder intense in her grey eyes.

"Watch it, Jackson. One day I'll find out your little secrets, whatever they are. I'm not going to let you ruin everything Lupa built for us." She hissed and then turned away, her pony tail wildly flying behind her while she took off further into the forest. It was lucky they found something they could hide in expect the salt flats, where they would have been open for everybody to attack.

"How are you feeling? Did Hazel say something offensive again?" Gwen rested on her knees right after Hazel had left and smiled at him, looking him over. His clothes were all torn and honestly, he looked pretty bad. Percy himself looked down to see what Gwen was looking at and caught her gaze at his necklace, that was still around his neck. Impressive, somehow. After all, everything else on his body was pretty much torn apart, he was lucky that he still had pockets to which his sword could return to.

"Nah, it's alright. She'll get over it eventually…I hope." He was frowning now but also looked back at the necklace which had a golden but not too shiny cord to it. It looked like leather turned gold, which made the beads and most of all the crystal appear prettier. "And it's impressive it's still whole, right?" he asked.

"Oh, that's because it's from my father's palace. Some of the things he touches turn magical. Like the bath we had that would never get dirty. Or the clothes that would never stop being smooth. Yeah, besides that it was a curse and he got me frozen in time for like three thousand years, that was pretty awesome." Zoe laughed dryly. Then she pointed at the bead necklace and looked at Percy quizzically.

"Why are you wearing it anyway, does it have a meaning? None of the others have something like that." She asked while Dakota and Gwen readied their sleeping beds for their rest. It was bright daylight but they were all so tired because they didn't get any sleep last night. Percy himself had sat there and taken off his torn shirt while Zoe talked, now looking at her with the torn clothes in his hands. He touched the necklace and frowned.

"I don't know, really. But I think they have a meaning, I just don't know which. It's somehow connected to my old live. Maybe even to Annabeth." There, he had said it. For as long as he had these dreams, Percy hadn't dared to speak her name out loud, afraid it was going to slip away from him like all his memories did. But as time passed and especially after the dream he could almost touch her, he felt like he could trust these people, especially the three sitting with him right now. Behind him, Dakota was frozen in her movement. She had glanced up to see Percy with his shirt off and had kept staring, not able nor ashamed that she was appealed to his appearance. But that name…h-he had said it before. When he was poisoned. Oh gods no…

"Who's Annabeth?" Zoe asked, obviously confused. But then her eyes widened and she held her head, dropping back and almost falling over. Gwen –who could read the signs of somebody collapsing the fastest- caught her but was just as shocked as the others.

_In Zoe's mind, images appeared. A blonde girl around the age of twelve was sitting in a boat together with Percy who seemed just as old. A short flash of the two dancing, him leaning over her while she held her shoulder in pain, her hugging him fiercely in front of a crowd, her kissing him on the cheek. But there was more, more different images where they were both older, then younger again. It had them sitting together at the beach, them together in a bubble underwater, her sleeping in his arms in a dark cabin. She had grey eyes like a thunderstorm, intelligent, intimidating. But when looking at him, they were different. Compelled, soft, happy…_

Just as sudden as she fell over, Zoe awoke again, startling the worried people gathered around her.

"_Di immortals…"_, she mumbled and her dark eyes came to a rest when meeting Percy's green ones. Gwen was still holding her and Dakota was leaning next to Percy while Reyna had come over to ask what in Hades was wrong. But Zoe didn't care. She was sure of what she saw. She was sure who this girl was. Did Percy know it? Most importantly; did Dakota know it? Probably not. The daughter of Aphrodite –sorry, Venus- wouldn't root for the guy that much if she knew he…had a girlfriend. Yeah, that was what this Annabeth girl – which had to be the one in the vision, she just knew it- was, Zoe was completely sure now. It was as if this vision answered her question and that was what puzzled her even more.

"Zoe, what…just happened?" Percy asked. When he had stated the thing with Annabeth, he had quickly put over a new shirt from his backpack so he was now properly dressed again. Zoe tried to look away from him to avoid him finding out she was lying with the following sentence.

"N-nothing. Probably just tired…I'm fine. Really, don't worry about me." She blabbered and shook Gwen off, who offered her a treatment with her magic. After all, she couldn't just eat Ambrosia like the rest of them. Or take a sip of Nectar to make her feel better. Not that she needed that. But she did need some space.

"You guys go to sleep, I'll just…get some air or something." She continued stupidly, getting up to avoid further confrontation.

"Zoe, we're out in the open, there's fresh air everywhere." Percy explained, completely oblivious to the fact that Zoe just wanted to be left alone and he followed her, leaving the other girls sitting there to stare at the two of them. The twelve year old tried to get him away by turning her back to him and walking fast into the woods but Percy didn't seem to notice and kept following her with his hands in his pockets.

"Look, I'm _fine_, Percy. Stop following me." She finally snapped and turned around just to see him with a serious face, mustering hers.

"No, you're not. You can't be this tired, you didn't even fight. What was that just now, Zoe? A god speaking to you? What'd he say? Look, this could be important-"

"It was a vision about Annabeth." Zoe finally gave in, interrupting him and shooting him a slightly guilty look. They were standing between the trees now, bushes where all around them and it was pretty dark. Still, the daughter of Midas could see Percy's irritated face and how he tried to put the pieces together but couldn't.

"You saw Annabeth? But how…w-what did you see? What do you know of her?" he asked and Zoe realized that he didn't know. Right now, he seemed desperate. He stepped forward and grabbed Zoe by her shoulders as if trying to absorb the information. This son of Poseidon had no clue who exactly Annabeth was, he just knew she was somehow connected to his past and it drove him crazy not to be able to find out more. Zoe heard something rustle behind Percy but ignored it because his green eyes were staring at her so intensly, so desperate, that she just had to tell him even if she didn't want to. What if this was an interference? What if she wasn't supposed to tell? What about Dakota? But she did it anyway, it was as if her tongue wasn't hers any more.

"Well the pictures mostly showed you and that Annabeth girl…blonde hair, grey eyes." She explained and Percy nodded frantically, hungry for more. It was strange, this look was so new on his face. Normally, he appeared so collected but now Zoe realized that deep inside, the great and powerful Percy Jackson was completely lost. He just didn't show it to the others, putting on a brave face for all of them and keeping up with the jokes and the teasing as if nothing fazed him even if it did. Deep down, he was just as desperate was any of them. No, probably much more, actually. So Zoe decided to tell him everything. He had been looking for his memories so long and it had to be pretty hard, even if he didn't admit it.

"She's your girlfriend, Percy. And if she's not, you certainly kiss her a lot for just a friend." She giggled and had to hide the red on her cheeks. Hey, she was just twelve, and seeing that guy in front of her, her first connection to this new time, kissing a girl with all his heart was pretty weird. But what came next was something she didn't expect to happen, didn't hope to happen. First, Percy let go of her shoulder, that much was awaited. Next, he leaned against a tree and held his forehead, staring at the floor to progress the information. That much was also alright. Another thing was the little wimper that came from one of the bushes. Percy probably didn't hear it, he was in trance. But Zoe did and she followed the noise with her gaze, only to see a blonde pony tail disappearing through the trees, running away from them.

"Uh-oh…." She mumbled, biting her lower lip with guild. Percy finally looked up, not fully there yet.

"I think Dakota heard what I said…"

* * *

_Yes, she heard it. Sigh. Poor girl, huh? We'll see where this leads :D  
_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Er...book is not here but the wikia says it was Elephant first so..I'll just go for that xD  
_

**_Next Question: WHAT ARE THE "INGREDIENTS" NICO NEEDS TO SUMMON THE DEAD?_**


	86. We missed Christmas!

_July, 8th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_lamia, olympusgirl12, pabekiez, readingqueen811, cjanimal, PeaceLoveAndCheese, impatientkid, Dragonfan47, blue-skies-green-eyes, olegnAiDociN, Guest_II_**_  
_**

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Oh gosh, you understood me completely wrong! D: I don't want to stop because I get too little reviews and that's not why I upload so little, the only reason is because I'm completely stressed out because of University! XD You guys have nearly nothing to do with it. It's logical that the reviews are decreasing the longer the story goes and I'm okay with that as long as I get SOME feedback and know that at least a few are reading x_x_

_Semester is soon over, then I'll be able to write more, promise :)_

_Btw, Nico's POV, yay. I enjoyed this, it was really refreshing ^^_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter LXXXVI**

**Nico**

The Son of Hades was the first one to awake after their short nap. He hadn't been really tired after all and the others were the ones being poisoned and having to go through all this. Fortunately, he was sitting at the door so he gently stroked Thalia's head from his shoulder, who had frankly fallen asleep right then and there. It was strange, how peaceful she appeared in her sleep even though when she was awake, she'd continue calling him names and shooting him with electricity whenever she could. Nico also wondered why she hadn't told anybody about her brother, Jason. Maybe because he was a Roman? Or did she even know that? Oh well, he had much to catch up to. Resting her head on Annabeth's side instead, Nico climbed out the car and took a deep breath of fresh morning air after closing the door behind him gently.

His black shoes took him across the parking lot into the shadows of the forest and he summoned a hellhound from the darkness of the trees, shadows creeping around his hands while the monster appeared out of nowhere and obeyed him with a small bow of respect.

"Hey. Give this to my sister. And make it quick, no side trips on your way down, understood?" he scribbled a note on a small piece of paper with a worn out ballpoint pen from his pocket, stretched out his hand and the hellhound gently grabbed the paper with his teeth, careful not to bite him because he probably knew the consequences. He then bowed again and turned himself into the shadows again, disappearing into the oak tree.

"Whoa. If I didn't know you're friends with my sister, that would have totally creeped me out." A voice from behind startled Nico but he just turned around as if that was totally normal and smiled.

"Oh, really? You didn't see the best of me yet." He mocked and watched as Jason Grace approached him. The son of Jupiter came to a halt in front of him and raised an eyebrow.

"What did the hellhound take from you?"

"A note to my sister." He said and leaned against the tree the hellhound just traveled through. Jason on the other hand remained in the daylight and somehow managed a smile at Nico's words.

"Oh you have a sister? That's cool, where does she live?" he asked, obviously happy to have a topic to talk about. Unfortunately, it wasn't one Nico wanted to dive into.

"In Elysium." He said but tried to keep his voice from sounding harsh. He just wanted Jason to get what was up with the topic quickly so they could drop it. First, the blonde seemed confused but his smile faded soon as he realized what Nico had just said.

"Oh you mean…oh. I-I'm sorry." Now he must have felt guilty because he stroked the floor with his foot and pressed his lips together. On the other hand, the son of Hades just smiled gently and hit Jason in the shoulder, whose expression changed to confused while he rubbed his shoulder. He always did that with Percy but obviously, Jason wasn't used to the shoulder hitting.

"Hey, no biggy. That was, like, two years ago. I see her a lot when I'm down in the Underworld. On a different matter, and I know this is sudden bus I have to know: Could you tell me what happened to you guys tonight? I didn't want to force Annabeth to tell me. And you're Percy's 'substitute' so, thrill me." He grinned towards the end, even with the quote marks, Jason didn't seem to like being called Percy's replacement. Of course, Hera's plan sucked after all. Probably for everybody but herself. Still, the blonde caught himself and cleared his throat.

"Of course. I figured you did that for her. So, we were on our way to San Francisco when suddenly, Annabeth awoke and…" and Jason told him everything from there. Not only that, the two of them sat down near the tree to avoid the bright light and Jason filled him in about the rest of their journey. It was strange, while talking to him, Nico couldn't quite place that feeling he got about the guy. He was nothing like Percy, yet, they had so much in common. Plus, if Jason was supposed to replace Percy and was one of the seven of that new prophecy…was Percy too? Probably. That guy managed to get himself into every mess there was after all.

"So…you know that Percy guy well, do you? Like everybody else except us three?" Jason interrupted the pause he gave Nico to let the information sink in. Nico, still in thought, looked up and lifted an eyebrow. Then his face became kind of sad and he looked away again, deeper into the forest.

"Yeah… You could say we're pretty good friends." He didn't explain further, didn't feel like going into detail about his friendship with Percy and how the guy was much more than just a friend to him. More like a big brother. Jason seemed to buy it though and stared at the car a few meters away.

"And he got along with Thalia too?" he finally added and shot Nico a side glance. Suddenly, Nico had to laugh. Not loudly, that wasn't really his style, but it was a slightly louder and rather dark chuckle.

"Oh yeah, totally. They just keep electrocuting and drenching each other every time they meet." He had to stop his chuckling because he kept thinking of the last times that was the case. These two were really amusing. Well, Thalia mostly did the same to Nico but it wasn't nearly as bad as the things she did to Percy. The guy could stand it though, he was always delivering right back and strangely, they never went too far with their fighting or power demonstration or whatever you wanted to call what they did. Finally, he calmed down and even kept smiling a little because of Jason's shocked face. He had probably assumed otherwise because Thalia acted all worried about Percy's disappearance. They all were, so it wasn't really a surprise the daughter of Zeus missed her cousin. Even if it was just so she could shoot him with lightning again.

"But other than that…yeah, they get along swimmingly after the fighting calms down.", Nico assured Thalia's younger sibling. Jason's worried face calmed down a bit. Somehow, the son of Hades had the feeling he had been thinking about whether he would get along with Percy or not. After all, if they were both part of the prophecy, they eventually had to. And since they were both leaders of one camp, they both had the potential to take the leading part, right? Nico didn't know the answer to Jason's worries, if he was honest.

Their little chat was interrupted by Piper walking up to them. She had Jason's jacket wrapped around her and seemed to have just woken up, at least when you judged by the state of her hair and the small eyes. Her arms were crossed and she rubbed her arms as if she was cold. She mumbled something that was probably a greeting and sat down next to Jason, immediately curling up in his lap and sighing with satisfaction. Before Jason could even properly react, she had already closed her eyes again. Nico snorted.

"She's like a cat or something." He commented but kept looking at the daughter of Aphrodite. It was hard to believe the goddess of love and beauty was her mother, since she seemed so completely natural and normal. Nico was used to these pink wearing Barbie dolls walking around camp so he had been surprised to find out Piper was supposed to live in that cabin. He'd bet on his sword that she hated it in there.

"Hey I heard that." Piper protested, mumbling into Jason's jeans. She stopped her attempt to sleep and lifted her head to glare at Nico. "Then what are you, a hellhound?" she pursed her lips and Nico understood that this was her try at being sarcastic. He had to grin.

"Maybe." He countered, which got Piper to stare at him confused. She probably waited for him to protest. So the brunette tried to awkwardly change the subject.

"Soo…what were you guys talking about?" she asked, now looking back at Jason from her resting position in his lab. But before Jason could answer, Nico did.

"I think we were talking about if your boyfriend here would get along with the mighty Percy Jackson once they meet up." He explained. 'Cause that was what he got from Jason's expressions and his questions. The blond's eyes widened but he sighed, which proved Nico's theory entirely. Piper seemed to think about it. Both of them ignored the 'boyfriend' teasing though, they probably already had enough of that.

"Well, he did already have some fights with Annabeth so I guess there may be some points to worry…but you're both civilized, I'm sure we'll find a way for you two to get along." She smiled at him from down there and it seemed to cheer up Jason a bit. Nico on the other hand lifted an eyebrow.

"You had fights with Annabeth? Ooooh I bet that went well." He made a face at the thought of the arguments he went in with the girl. Not that those were many –luckily- but he knew that the daughter of Athena could be really scary at times. Sometimes he wondered how Percy put up with her all the time. Then again it was Percy, so…maybe he needed that challenge.

"Now what's that supposed to mean, huh, Corpse breath?" that familiar voice was not what Nico wanted to hear right now. He flinched and slowly glanced up at the blonde warrior in front of them. She was wearing her usual outfit, jeans and a camp shirt, just that there was a jacket over it this time and she had crossed her arms, her grey eyes staring at Nico with such intent, Nico had to gulp. Man, if looks could kill, Annabeth Chase would sure have a bloody vest by now. The other two weren't so relaxed now either. Piper quickly sat up and pretended she was never near Jason's lap and Jason himself tried not to meet Annabeth's eyes at all. So it was down to Nico again, huh? The Son of Hades sighed and got up, smiling shyly.

"I didn't mean it like that, Annabeth. It's just that-"

"Yeah yeah, I don't even wanna know it, Nico. Come on you three, we're leaving and you were still missing. We can continue that in the car, with probably more than a day to talk about it." She had a devilish smile on her face before escorting them back to the car. Why again had he wanted to join this? Oh yeah, for Percy. And for Annabeth if she wasn't about to kill him. Probably.

Finally, Grover started the engine. He let Leo sleep while he drove himself because the fire user seemed pretty tired. The Satyr turned on the radio and from then, the drive went pretty smoothly. Annabeth had almost forgotten about Nico's insults since she was talking to Thalia about some theories she had because of this vision and how Percy survived all this. Despite the fact that she had been all miserable just a few hours ago, Nico had the feeling she still was, but was hiding it pretty well now. Nico suppressed the urge to speak to her about it, afraid to depress her again. It was strange, even after Luke got obsessed by Kronos, she wasn't this bad. Or when Luke finally died. Even though the guy had been close to her, what Percy's disappearance did to her was apparently far worse. The son of Hades had never before seen her in this condition, where you had to be careful what to mention around her in case you didn't want her to break down. She wouldn't cry, no. Annabeth Chase hadn't fallen that low. But just from the gazes she tossed around into the world you could tell that her mind was elsewhere and in certain moments you could see the shattered pieces of something she had once called her world, or rather, her seaweed brain. Not knowing what had happened to him and if he even remembered her had to kill her inside and Nico tried not to make himself sad by thinking about it.

Apart from that, their drive was pretty eventless. They mainly took the highway so nothing really interesting flew by outside. The cold faded as they drove further west, where it was a tiny bit warmer and there was nearly no snow outside anymore. In Reno, they had a short stop for food and such, stopping by at a newspaper stand.

"Strange storms in North Wyoming and -Nevada? Unusual…snow storms..Sighting of strange footprints…" Annabeth mumbled while reading the paper. Her strange thoughts were interrupted by Piper, who gasped. Leo turned to her, expecting her to tell something incredible. But Piper seemed to be something between terrified and completely stunned.

"Has any of you noticed how it is already past Christmas? I- I can't believe we just missed that." She breathed, obviously shocked. To be honest, that shocked even Nico. He had never really celebrated the day with his 'family' down in the Underworld but he asked himself why the others had just missed it. He had had a nice little chat and 'present' exchange with Bianca that morning while they tried to not let the stress get to their minds. But just working through it must be hard. Leo seemed completely disappointed.

"Oh man, what a bummer. I bet they celebrate that at Camp." He sighed and Annabeth had to look up from her newspaper and Nico had to smile the same sad smile as her. Yeah, Christmas at Camp wasn't that bad actually. They had several fun traditions and an awesome Christmas dinner where the nymphs gave their very best at cooking. Annabeth shot him a glance though, telling him not to tell the three about it so they won't get all sad and depressed. Since they were all hungry, they ate at a hot dog stand with the few dollars they had left and then went on with the driving, this time with Leo behind the wheel.

Unfortunately though, the group of demigods only made it to Sacramento before everything turned terribly wrong…

* * *

_Yeah, what could go wrong AGAIN? Remember, there are many riddles to solve left, so this will probably be it :D. Don't worry, the pace is going faster now, at least faster than I originally planned it to go xP.  
_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ A Happy Meal (or other meet I guess), Drinks (Coke or Root Beer)and a deep hole. In the old times it was animal blood.  
_

**_Next Question: WHAT DO ZHANG MEN not DO?_**


	87. Liquid Earth I

_August, 5th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ Roxanne's Diary, Dragonfan47, impatientkid, PeaceLoveAndCheese, #1 fan (Fan without an account), olegnAiDociN, NeptRox, percy jackson or seaweed brain_**_  
_**

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Meh, it's been almost a month...? ^^" Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, honestly. ._. _

_It's just...first there was university stress, then I was camping for a week and then I got hopelessly lost in Doctor Who. The Internet got me to watch it, now face the concequences, I can't stop watching and can't stop thinking about it! _. It's a curse, damnit. Anyway, I managed to get a bit of PJ vibe back yesterday so I did this :). Hoping to get back more of it to manage the story forward a bit more fluently, since I'm in semester break now xD._

_And yes, THIS STORY WILL NOT STOP UNTIL I'M FINISHED! HOWEVER LONG THE PAUSES MAY BE... D:_

_For those who don't care about my reasons: Here's the chapter. I'm fairly okay with it...hope there aren't as many typos this time. _

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXXVII**

**Percy**

It still didn't sink in. After all, it didn't really have the time to. Directly after telling him and delivering him a slight mental breakdown, Zoe jolted Percy back to reality by telling him Dakota overheard. Of all people, it had to be her, huh? He looked up, still in shock and blinked at the clear sighed mortal.

"W-what? Styx, you've _got_ to be kidding me!" he cursed and immediately turned around to follow the daughter of Venus. It wasn't really hard to do so, Dakota didn't pay any attention to what amount of noise she made. She ran deeper into the forest and Percy was lucky to quickly catch up with her since he was a pretty okay runner and she was confused and slowed down by the trees and bushes too much. Finally, the son of Poseidon managed to grab her wrist and make her stop from running away any further.

"Let GO! How dare you even follow me you puny little mor- Oh. It's you." She had begun to struggle against his grip but immediately stopped when she actually looked behind her and saw Percy, not Zoe. Immediately, she tore away from his grip to hide her face from him but it was too late. He had seen the tears in her eyes and it gave him a sting to the heart. He had to try and explain, even if he wasn't quite able to, since he didn't catch everything himself.

"Look, I… Dakota I'm-"

"No. No, no stop, Percy. Just…don't." she suddenly interrupted him and whipped away her tears. Her head turned to face him and even though her eyes were still red and puffy, she had a smile on her lips. Her mouth had traces of tears on them but she still had them curved upwards in a sad but knowing matter.

"I shouldn't have lied to myself. You arrived at the Castra with no memories of your past. And you're what, sixteen? Stupid daughter of Venus I am, I assume that somebody as good looking and powerful and plain _gorgeous_ as you doesn't already have a girlfriend? Well, wakey wakey, Dakota, of course he has. Just doesn't remember. It's not your fault, I just shouldn't have tried to feel anything at all." She now tore her eyes away from his, the blue in it still stained with an awful lot of red from the crying. But Percy just shook his head again and this time he was the one to interrupt her from saying any more.

"No, that's not true. You couldn't have known any of it. And the truth is, I did remember…a bit. Those dreams I had, what I wanted to talk to you about…they were all mostly about her. I should have told you from the beginning, not let you down this long. It was just…It was really cool to hang out with you and Gwen, you know. This may sound weird but you two were really the only ones who were willing to talk to me properly at all. And I feared if I told you of my dreams about Annabeth you might..you know, just drop me or something. Plus, I didn't want to…you know, hurt you?" He felt the blood creeping up to his cheeks while he looked away. However he got that Annabeth girl to be his girlfriend, it was certainly not his good ability to talk to girls. At least not when It came to that topic. It just felt awkward somehow. But Dakota on the other hand stared at him blankly, then started to laugh out of the blue. She laughed so hard, her blonde hair was thrown back together with her head and she had to grab her stomach to hold it together.

"What, seriously? Sorry, Percy but that's just completely silly. Why would I do that, do you really think I'm that cheep? Oh gods, I can't stop!" she laughed again and leaned against a tree for air. The son of Poseidon on the other hand just stood there and stared at her, completely bewildered. Now that was taking it differently than he expected! Finally, the daughter of Venus caught her breath and shook her head, looking at him directly again.

"Seriously though, I had many assholes as my boyfriends. Believe me, they made up the most ridiculous lies to get to me or finally to break up. Well, _when _they were the ones doing it…Anyway. Percy, I just said, it's not your fault. Your memory was gone! Even if you had ten girlfriends and a spaceship, you wouldn't know so. Yes, you could have told me sooner but you know what? I already knew. You talk in your sleep. Remember, when you were in the infirmary? You said her name. I pretty much figured. Your behavior now just proves that you are better than all the boys I've ever been with and it's a shame you're already taken. But I of all persons would never interfere in a solid relationship. Who am I to interfere with love, to interfere with my mother, the goddess of love and passion herself?" she smiled honestly now and took a step forward, lifting her hand to his face and stroking his cheek carefully. A few strains of his hair were hanging in the way, the grey one was with them and Dakota fingered it while she kept talking.

"So don't you dare think that I'll just abandon you. You're still my friend, Percy. Oh dear Venus, I really can't believe I'm taking this as easily. Maybe she's helping me cope, I don't know." Dakota sniffed and let go of Percy now, slowly sliding down the tree she now had her back at again. Percy frowned but sat down beside her, still at a loss of words. They were both silent for a few minutes until finally, Percy found the ability to use his tongue again.

"Wow…this….thanks, Dakota. I would have never thought…wow." He stammered and Dakota snorted again.

"You're so cute when you have no clue what to say! Oh, sorry." The daughter of Venus had to keep herself from getting all caught up again. Silence enveloped them once more but they were probably both still in thought. At least Percy was.

"Still can't believe she's my girlfriend. I have to find her somehow…however I'm going to manage _that_!" he laughed drily and shook his head, stroking his fingers through his hair in desperation. Next to him, Dakota smiled at him but also looked thoughtful. Finally, she seemed to have decided to voice her thoughts.

"If you still remember bits of her even though your memory got taken and if Zoe was shown –whatever that means- that she's your girlfriend…. Then that certainly means that my mother is on your side to a level that's really rare. So I'm guessing that if she is, you are going to see her again. My mother is into dramas though, just saying. I'd be careful with her temptations. Could be that she was the one setting me up for you. Some mother _she_ is." She shot the dark in front of her an evil gaze as if Venus was standing there in person. Somehow, Dakota's words made him smile. He had the feeling that the teenager knew exactly what the daughter of Venus was talking about, that Venus/Aphrodite loved dramas and also enjoyed setting things up to be complicated.

"Hey, is it just me or…is the floor getting liquid?" Percy suddenly commented and frowned at the ground as his hand was smeared with earth that dropped down to join the rest as if it was water.

"PERCYYYYY! GET YOUR PUNY PUGA BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" an alarmed yell from the camp hurried Percy to his feet. He helped Dakota up and looked at her, puzzled.

"Puga?" he asked and Dakota looked at him a little longer, remembering that he didn't understand Latin that well.

"Your ass." She translated with a small smile and Percy cringed a little.

"Riiiight…of course." He shook his head to wave away the thought and then started running. Reyna's voice had sounded really urgent. So he got out his pen and uncapped it to be prepared for anything since he expected a monster attack of some sort. Wait, he left Zoe back there all alone! He really hoped she was fine. Under their feet, the ground was still liquid and it was as if they were running through quick sand, it was trying to get them stuck and suck them in. Percy had to pull Dakota out several times while he clung himself to trees, which also sunk deeper into the earth. Finally, they arrived at the clearing they put up their campfire. Well, the fire was gone now, only a few glowing coals were left since the rest sunk into the ground. All around the floor, the Romans stood and kept moving. Right here, the moving floor was even worse, it was really as if standing in actual quick sand. Half the trees had already sunken several meters into the ground and Reyna was fingering Percy's backpack desperately. It was half sunken into the floor and seemed impossible to pull out. The others had their rucksacks on their backs already and Bobby was standing on a giant stone together with Zoe, who stared at the ground, completely horrified. But at least she was safe.

"What in Hades is happening here?" Dakota gasped and looked around in the faces of the other Romans. Reyna just shook her head and waved Percy to come closer.

"Doesn't matter. Help me, Percy. Your backpack was the center of the whole thing, I can't get the seal out, can't even touch it!" she breathed and pulled on the backpack further. It was smeared with liquid earth on the side and she managed to get it out a few inches but it only got pulled in a few seconds later. As quickly as possible, Percy put back his sword and kneeled beside Reyna. His fingers quickly closed around the seal and the other hand grabbed some important things he needed from in there, like his toothbrush, some boxers and a shirt. Lastly, he reached for his bottle of water before the bag completely filled with earth within the matter of seconds. Percy jumped up, took a few steps back and pulled Reyna with him. The remaining Romans now all made their way to the giant rock, since that one was sinking the slowest of all objects at the clearing.

"_She's after the seal. The earth is after the seal. She waited so long…so patiently. Now it's out in the open and she will do everything to get it…"_ Zoe whispered into her hands she held in front of her mouth. Percy wouldn't have heard it if he didn't just step on the rock next to her. When she said it, he turned and grabbed her shoulders, staring in the girl's dark eyes.

"What did you say? Zoe, do you know what god this is? Who are we facing! Wait…guys…" he looked up to Bobby, who had been standing close to Zoe as well.

"W-was she just speaking Latin?" he asked and slowly, Bobby nodded, looking into Percy's bewildered eyes just as shocked.

"B-but…."

"GUYS! I don't know the answer either but I think we should be getting our demigod asses out of here if we don't want to get swallowed like your backpack did!" Reyna interrupted and punched Percy in the shoulder to silence him. Percy complained but when he looked away from Zoe, he saw that the daughter of Mars had a point. The stone they now all stood on really close to each other was only barely holding out, the ground was already near Gwen's feet, who whimpered and was close to jumping into Dakota's arms. Zoe herself was silent and held her head as if she was having another headache. She looked around as if just waking up and stared at Percy with wide eyes.

Percy's head was swirling a bit as well. The events of the day were still all crumbled and stuffed into his brain. The fight, the strange thing that happened to the Yuki girl, the talk with Hestia, the fact that he lost his curse, the discovering of the seal and now the revelation that he had a girlfriend and Dakota was apparently perfectly okay with that. And then that stuff that happened to Zoe that he completely _not_ understood…

But, the fighter that he was, the son of Poseidon now took a deep breath. All around him, the Romans were either panicking or –in Reyna's and Hazel's case- trying to find a way out of here. Slowly exhaling, he got out his sword and stepped forward a little so his feet almost touched the liquid ground.

"Okay. We can do this, guys. Hazel, you said my father was god of earthquakes, right?" he asked and looked at the daughter of Minerva. Irritated that he addressed her at all, Hazel quickly nodded as approval.

"Yeah…why? I don't think this is his doing, it's much more likely-"

"No, no, not my point. But remember last time? When we met that strange woman in the forest? I bet you already figured out as well that this is her. That we're facing her all the time since I arrived at the Castra and for who know how long before that. Last time, I managed to weaken her or make her disappear with my earthquake power thingy." He explained while the liquid earth now lingered at his feet. At this rate, there was no way in Hades that they would make it out by simply running. But if he could at least weaken or overpower the thing for a few seconds, they could try to outrun it somehow. He felt his hands shake and looked down at them. Damn, he was really out of power right now. Even though he ate Ambrosia and drank some Nectar later, he was no way near his full power. The fight and the recovering of the seal just used up too much of it. His left hand had closed its fingers around the seal but he couldn't think about that right now. His remaining stuff was stored in Dakota's backpack and he looked up at the others again.

"I'll do it again and I'll charge it with all I've got. Unfortunately, that's not really much. I'll probably be unconscious, one of you will have to carry me." He explained, his forehead turned into a frown. But he didn't show how worried he really was about that move. Really, he had no idea if he could even survive that big of a power drain. To his surprise, bobby was the one to volunteer.

"I've got you, Perseus." He said and looked directly into his eyes, which was somehow strange. Of all the soldiers, he had been the one to despised Percy the most, even more than Hazel had. But his face was different now, as if he had realized something important when he now looked at him.

"Er thanks.", Percy said and ignored the fact that he had called him his full name, which he recalled not really liking.

"Do you want some more Ambrosia? I don't have much left but if it's to help you for more power-" Gwen began but Percy immediately shook his head.

"No, I've had pretty much for the day, we don't want me to burn up, right?" he grinned as if this was nothing, hiding the fact that he was a bit scared. Dakota seemed to notice though and she gently squeezed his shoulder. He smiled at her before readying his sword. By now, his feet were halfway into the earth and he could feel an overwhelming power coming from underneath, staring up at him with so much evil intend that he felt a shiver going up his spine. He swallowed hard and motioned for the others to step back. They couldn't move very much but they held onto each other by Reyna's orders, building a tight cycle so they wouldn't fall over into the "mud".

"_You can't hurt me anyway!"_ the woman's evil voice echoed through his mind but he tried to wave it away. That last time was his doing, he was sure of it. Well, almost. But he had to try! There wasn't really another way, was there?

Finally, the son of Neptune brought down Riptide with a scream, challenging as much power from within him as he could summon. He felt the strength shoot up his arm and into the sword as it sank into the liquid ground. Suddenly, around it, the earth began to shake and became as it was before, solid. The rock shook as well and he felt the whole clearing shake with his power, cracks appearing all around from where he stood and momentarily, he was driving the evil away from this place. But as he was doing so, he also felt his consciousness drain away from him. Not a drop of his power was left and he felt his hand slip from his sword as he passed out cold. With his last strength, he wrapped his hands around the seal of the ocean and pressed it to his chest before he felt some strong hands around his back.

Finally, there was nothing but black enveloping him…

* * *

_Dudun. Yes, I love making cliffhangers. I'm your Steven Moffat :D. And yes, I'm assuming Percy can do that...I'm making him too powerful, am I? Sorry, really, but I just love him too much I guess...*sigh*. Just wanted my story arc to be him discovering his full potential. I mean, what he showed in the books wasn't really all he could have. He's the bloody son of the sea god damnit. Of course Jason, Thalia, Nico and Leo also didn't unlock their full potential yet (No wait. All of the characters with superpowers didn't). But I figured since he was the main character and the Romans really need it right now, I'd make him the first to do so. xP You know? No? Okay._

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Zhang men do NOT Cry.  
_

**_Next Question: (an easier one) WHAT'S CLARISSE'S FIRST NICKNAME FOR PERCY?_**


	88. Liquid Earth II

_August, 15th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ KirstyH96, SmilingSim, StormQueen6711, Roxanne's Diary, olympusgirl12, olegnAiDociN, 1 fan, Dragonfan47, redandwhitetigers, pabeikez, PeaceLoveAndCheese_**_  
_**

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_10 days...I'm getting better at this XD. Holidays are quite relaxing. I'm drawing a lot and thinking about making a DW video since I'm obviously still obsessed xP But I managed to divide my obsession between DW and PJ so I guess it's alright and I can continue writing properly from now on xD. Shit is getting down again in the story so I'm going to have very much fun doing so and you'll hopefully enjoy reading it :D_

_Percy's in my opinion not too powerful yet. After all, his curse is gone and the power he gets from it are the result of proper use of them and seeing where his position in a team is. It's not like he magically gets them from nowhere xP. I hoped that was clear to you all ^^"_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXXVIII**

**Annabeth**

_Sacramento_, Italian word for sacrament, a Christian act of healing and connection to their god. Currently the Sixth biggest city in California, host city of the California state library since 1947….

Facts flooded Annabeth's mind when she saw the road sign for the city Sacramento flying by. It was something that mostly happened automatically, with facts she had read somewhere or seen on television. In most cases, she would now turn towards the others and tell them about it, inform them what a great city this was, that it was the best ethically integrated city in 2002 and stuff like that. But this time, she was just too deep in thought and too close to falling asleep. Had their misery gone so far that Annabeth Chase wasn't even in the mood to give off her knowledge rants?

Yes, obviously. Because right now, her head was completely filled with other things, mysteries this mission seemed to throw at them every second. And every other second, she wasn't able to solve them, which made her mad. Mad at herself and mad at Gaea. Damn that goddess and damn the gods for not aiding them. Not that she wanted their help, not necessarily, but she was somehow used to it from their other missions. And now, against a so much stronger opponent, Zeus decided to go get silent and let the demigods handle everything. Not that there were two parties who could meet and then start fighting each other instead of the enemy. Nooo, there was no need at all for a god that could stop them from fighting and make them listen, make them join hands and walk in the right direction. Yeah, let a small team of demigods travel through the whole united states and let's assume they'll be save with mother earth on their heels.

Her thoughts were roughly interrupted. Her cheek, until now pressed against the glass of the car window, bumped against it painfully as something underneath the driving car began to shake. Leo, who was the driver and besides Annabeth the only one awake, nervously looked around.

"What in Hades was that…?" he asked carefully, not sure if he could speak loudly. But demigods had a light sleep when it came to missions. Well, most of them. Thalia for example jolted awake next to Annabeth, her hand reached out next to her, where she probably normally kept her knife when she slept with the hunters. But since Annabeth's arm was there, she grabbed that and raised it in the air.

"Wh's attacng?" she asked out loud although it was hardly understandable since the daughter of Zeus was obviously not completely awake yet. She still held Annabeth's hand in the air, noticed that it was hardly movable and glanced at it. Her gaze slowly flew up her arm and she saw Annabeth, looking at her with a raised eyebrow and that there was obviously no danger in sight.

"Oh..sorry." she whispered and quickly let go of her just to rub her eyes sleepily. In the row behind them, the far end of the car, where Jason and Piper had happily snuggled up against each other, Jason also awoke with another shake of the car, bumping his head against the car window just as Annabeth did. Piper next to him awoke as if she was hit by an electric shock, which was really the case, judging by the look she shot Jason.

"Ouch! Damn Jason, what in the name of the gods was that for?" she asked and punched him in the shoulder in return. Jason quickly apologized, he hadn't even noticed that he had built up any energy. Only Nico and Grover, both heavy sleepers, where still snoring now.

Suddenly, another shake of the car. But this time, it was more like a whole earthquake. All of them awake had to grab onto something to not fall over. Annabeth quickly grabbed for the seat in front of her, as did the others, except Thalia, who had the gab between the driver and the co-driver before her so she stemmed her feet into that. Both Nico and Grover, still asleep of course, were caught in the shake and Grover bumped his head into the front of the valve while Nico was caught by his seatbelt really roughly, making him choke up. Then the engine roared and Leo was able to driver on. As a consequence, the two remaining teenagers woke up.

"Woah now I'm awake. What'd you do that for….Wait, what…In the name of Hades, what is that…?" Nico had looked around when he suddenly shot a gaze out of the car window and drew in an astonished breath. All of them looked behind the car and Piper let out a small shriek. Right behind them, just barely missing them, was a gigantic gap in the road. A pit had opened and half the road was now raised up a few feet while the rest was slowly sinking further into the earth and opening the gap even more. The worst of it was, that the gab was still creeping their way, following the line they drove.

"Oh my gods! LEO, hit the gas! Come on, give it all you've got!" Annabeth yelled and in the front, Leo grinned.

"Oh I love to hear _that._" And he hit the gas pedal as hard as he could, making them drive many times faster than the speed limit allowed them to. But that wasn't really important right now, since their lives were definitely at stake.

"Now she's out to get us. We were supposed to be dead by now, that trap was meant to give us the rest and now she's tired of her monsters and gets us herself. Great. Just…great!" Thalia mumbled while she nervously looked over her weapons and their remaining stuff. Annabeth herself had her lips pressed together and stared at the gap behind them intently, her arms hugging her own backpack in case they had to jump out really fast.

"Um, guys…you might want to see this…" Grover got out. He could barely speak because he was really nervous but had nothing left to eat, even his backpack was barely there anymore. As the others tore their gaze from behind them, the view out of the front window was just as bad. The whole road was shaking – which gave them a really rough ride to begin with- and right in the middle of their track, it was splitting up. Car after car plunged into darkness just like with the gap behind them. It was only thanks to Leo's steering that they had managed to survive until now. But now the both gaps were closing in on them and even though they could see the city by now, it wasn't really helping. In desperation, Leo tried to outrun the gap by pulling over and dodging to the right but the thing followed and even got faster this time. Finally, the son of Hephaestus had no option left. They all got into defensive positions and Leo pulled the wheel completely to the side at the same time as he pulled the e-brake, making them come to an aprupt halt with a loud shriek of the breaks. The gaps closed in though and Annabeth prepared for the impact.

So this was it….?

One second passed. Two seconds…Ten seconds. Nothing happened. Complete silence enclosed them and finally, they dared to look up. With a final shake, the car had landed in the gaps, rather the wheels had. Front wheels in one and back wheels in the other gap, making it impossible to move the car anywhere. The ground below it was turning liquid, making it sink in centimeter by centimeter. Slowly and without another word, the demigods got out of the vehicle, as if they were afraid that any sound could crack the gap in the street open even further. They made their way to the side of the road, where finally, they were able to breathe a sigh of relieve.

"So I guess that means 'abandon the car' in Gaea language…?" Leo suggested and swallowed. He looked around nervously, checking their current environment.

"I guess. Come on, we better get another ride inside the city. Although I assume we're most certainly running into something…so better get your weapons out." She assumed loudly, though the warning was pretty unnecessary since the others had already figured that out on their own. All of them readied themselves as they went along while down the half broken road, there were coming a bunch of police and fire department cars. Passing them, Annabeth though about how many cars have crashed down in that crack and how many mortals had died just so Gaea could get what she wanted. Someday, she'd serious give that woman a proper punch in the face.

Their way through the forest was quiet but full of dread and fear for traps. Jason sent Leo to the front with him since he was –according to his two teammates- extremely good at discovering and unarming traps. Since that talent wouldn't be uncommon for a son of Hephaestus, Annabeth let it pass and hoped that it was also working for traps set by the earth goddess or her minions.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. As soon as they had walked a few meters into the direction of the city, Annabeth could feel the ground beneath her feet gluing her where she stood. She looked down and her eyes widened as the ground appeared to have turned liquid. Of course the others noticed and they didn't even have to hear her command to follow it.

"RUN!" she yelled and they all made their best effort to outrun the liquid earth that wanted to swallow them like quicksand.

_We're not fast enough. It's too strong…no….this can't be it! We have to get to San Francisco! Percy…..__Percy….._

And with these thoughts, the earth enveloped her thighs, then her belly and finally, her face. She could hear the others scream, Thalia was grapping her hand and she herself reached out for Nico's collar. But as she sunk deeper, a force pulled both of them away from her and alone, she sank into nothingness…

Upon awakening, her senses began to kick in one after another. First, her hearing. There was movement around her and she heard murmuring voices but her ears couldn't make out what was said exactly. Then the smell. Something sweet, too sweet, was hanging in the air. It made the atmosphere of the room all heavy and she felt the need to sleep or at least being all dizzy. With difficulty, she shook away the feeling and concentrated on her other senses, willing them to awaken. The daughter of Athena began to feel her body again. Alone by the smell, she had concluded that she was not dead or for the time being, not in Hades yet. She knew what Hades smelled like and this wasn't it. At least that was something. Next, the feeling in her limbs returned. Which was less blessfull, because her whole body seemed to ache. Strangely though, she wasn't covered in mud as far as she felt and had other clothes on, a light breeze was playing around her bare shoulders as she heard a nearby door open. Her hands were unable to move and as she tried, she registered the feeling of being tied up. There weren't any robes though.

Carefully, she opened her grey eyes just by a slit to peak around a bit without anybody noticing she was awake. Her body was lying on the ground sideward with her hands tied behind her back but her feet free from bonding. Right before her, there was some kind of chair and a noise caught her attention. The sound of a webbing stool. On the chair, she could see somebody in a long white dress just sitting there, probably the one moving the web. Next to it, there was a gigantic mirror and Annabeth was able to see herself. Her face and her were cleaned and her blonde curls were woven in an elegant hairdo where they fell over her shoulder. Her eyes were framed with black and light blue eye shadow, making them appear bigger and she was wearing an old fashioned Greek dress, white and falling down to her feet, where she wore sandals. Wait, she knew this getup. But that wasn't possible…

But her thoughts were distracted as she saw something move behind her in the mirror. That's when Annabeth registered her friends. Well, not all of them. Thalia and Piper were there, dressed up a little different but also really Greek old fashioned. Piper, still unconscious, looked astonishing, her dress was also white but more daring, showing her beautiful features off and her makeup was all black, which would probably show her really colorful eyes. Just as when she had received her mother's blessing, her hair was well done and braided over her shoulder. As for Thalia, she was slightly moving and also carefully checking out her surroundings. She wore a silver dress and it was slightly glowing, like her hunter jacket always did. Her makeup was not as heavy as it mostly was but her blue eyes sparkled, at least that bit Annabeth saw through the mirror. Their gazes met and since only Annabeth seemed to be tied up, Thalia moved very slowly to her wrist, where her bracelet normally was. Her blue eyes widened though, as she saw that it wasn't there, just as much as the cylinder around her leg.

"Yes, I removed them. You don't need weapons here, my dears." A far too sweet and far too familiar voice suddenly sounded from the chair next to the mirror. The woman stood up and moved over to them, coming to a halt directly in front of Annabeth. Since she seemed to know that the daughter of Athena was awake, Annabeth adjusted herself and sat up, her hands still behind her back. Slowly, she lifted her head and shot the woman the most powerful death glare she could manage. With a wide and bittersweet smile, the blackhaired woman returned it.

"Good to see you again too, Annabeth Chase." She said in a sweet but very impending voice. In the meantime, Piper had also woken up and sat up, holding her head in confusion and staring at the woman, then at Annabeth and finally at Thalia, who also didn't know who this was. But the daughter of Zeus probably figured that If Annabeth had that gaze on, it couldn't be anything good. Piper though wasn't as experienced and started to open her mouth.

"Where the heck are we and who are you exactly? Did you put me in this….thing?" she gazed down on herself, obviously disgusted. The woman laughed dryly.

"And here I thought a daughter of Aphrodite would appreciate a pretty dress. Demigods aren't what they once were." She said, slowly beginning to grin. Since she didn't answer any of Piper's questions, Annabeth herself raised her voice.

"We've been captured and are probably in her hideout. Yes, she did that and on the question who she is…well, Thalia, Piper. May I introduce you to Circe, daughter of Hecate and Helios, Minor goddess of Magic." The smile on the woman's face grew wider as she stepped forward and roughly grabbed Annabeth's chin in her hand so she was forced to look her in the eye directly, which she gladly did, trying to stare her down. Oh if looks could kill, these two would have much blood on their hands. Circe spoke up, her tone now downright deadly.

"Yes, that's right my blonde, smart sweetheart. This time, you won't escape me that easily…."

* * *

_Dudun. Circe! How do you like that, huh? xD Seriously, there were hints. You guys still remember where? ;P Now I'm curious if you really caught them XD.  
_

_Guess what might have happened to the guys...^^"_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Prissy  
_

**_Next Question: WHAT COMPANY NAME WAS WRITTEN ABOVE THE HIDEOUT OF THE CYCLOPES IN DETROIT?_**


	89. The Pink Potion of Doom

_September, 7th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ SmilingSim, MehhPerson, readingqueen811, KirstyH96, olegnAiDociN, PeaceLoveAndCheese, BadassBatman, 1 fan, pjohpkc28_**_  
_**

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Oh my dear god, I am SOO sorryyyyy T_T I didn't even realize how much time had passed. I was working, my bf was here and I was generally pretty busy or other way occupied. _

_But as I already promised, I WILL finish this story, no matter how long it takes me or how long it will get. I had the end planned from the start so I hope to complete it and make it a good and nice round up. From you, all I ask would be your patience (which you really seem to have plenty of and I really really thank you for that, can't happen to thank you enough in fact) but also a little bit of support. I'm already getting that (Oh god, I have over 1,000 reviews! I can't really thank you enough to be honest!) but I'm sorry it's taking a while but it is all planned for carefully. I admit I tend to add some conversation in between but I find it to be boring or too fast paced otherwised. I'm sorry if that's not okay with you but I will try to do my best in the future, with my English AND with the grammar and pace of the story :)_

**_Anonymous Answers_**

_** surender:** I'm sorry but I'll probably not be able to manage that x_x I survived "the Son of Neptune" (the real one) coming out so I'll have to write through MoA too. Btw, now that you mention it, I don't want any spoilers...I'll probably get the book later than you lot xP_

___**olegnAiDociN:** Aww, that's sweet :3. And yes, definitely! I don't know if you mean the old series (starting 1963) or the new one (starting 2005) but both are pretty decent xD. The new one is a better start in my opinion though because the old one can be rather dull to watch if you don't know what it's all about since the pace is really slow and it's a really old production without cuts etc. But YES, definitely worth watching! Tell me if you did, I'd really like to hear your opinion :3_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter LXXXIX**

**Leo**

Slowly, consciousness found him again. Well, he hadn't expected that, had they all assumed this was it for his little demigod life. Had been an awesome life though. At least the last bit. Found friends, got himself in plenty of danger and got to know awesome people. Saw his dad…

Still, he hadn't been prepared for this. Was this what Hades looked like? He hadn't been there yet so he had no idea. As his eyes opened, he noticed that he wasn't alone. Slowly, he sat up just to have Grover, Nico and Jason almost directly next to him. Their clothes were completely covered with mud and so were their faces although they had attempted to take that away from their skin a bit. Leo figured he was covered in dirt too, since his face itched and he couldn't move his face somehow, it felt like it was suddenly made of stone. He coughed and hastily tried to get the dirt out of his face.

"Oh, so you're finally awake too. Welcome back, Flame boy." Jason commented but seemed relieved somehow. Leo nodded and sat up. All of them were sharing some kind of glass cave that was closed from below and above. Just some hole on the side seemed to deliver them some air through a vent.

"So, we're in hell then? I imagined that quite differently…" Leo said, attempting to joke around. Grover just snorted though. He shook his head.

"I wouldn't joke about that. Trust me, Hades looks different." He said in a serious tone and Jason raised his eyebrows.

"How do you know that, you've been there?" he asked the Satyr, who shuddered.

"Oh yeah, once. Certainly not planning on going back.", he said, his voice bitter.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad once you get used to it….and treated as royalty." Nico grinned. He was the only one standing, obviously checking out their surroundings. He now slit down beside the others so they were sitting in a circle with their backs turned against the glass walls.

"Percy was down there about three times, right? Two times with me and one with you. Guess he wasn't very fund of it either but he _did_ leave an impression. Swimming in the Lethe _and_ Styx, the guy put up a record." He laughed dryly and rubbed some dirt from the pale skin on his hand. Leo assumed he might have looked Italian, with that olive tone to his skin. But since he obviously seemed to spent much time _away_ from the sunlight, you could maybe say he looked like an Italian ghost more than anything else.

"But don't you lose your memories in the Lethe. All of them?" Jason asked with a bitter undertone. Losing memories wasn't a very happy topic for him, Leo guessed. Wasn't much to guess there, of course it wasn't. Nico just shrugged though.

"Well, long story…but Percy basically has this ability to get himself dry so…yeah, he avoided losing his memories that way. Didn't do him much good, did it?" he grumbled and pressed his lips together. Jason had mention in the car that he had told Nico the whole story up until now. The Son of Hades didn't seem to like the idea that Percy Jackson had no clue who he was any more. Leo had assumed they were just friends or something but it seemed to bug the Hades out of him so there had to be something more. Weren't they technically cousins? So were he and Jason though and they didn't behave like it. Leo shook the thought away and looked around the cave.

"Sooo…where the Hades are we then?" he decided to break the silence with his question and Nico shook his head again, staring at the glass cage.

"I have no clue. I don't see the girls anywhere either. There are some other cages next to ours but they're all full of ferrets. Then there are those tanks on the wall but I can't see what they're filled with." He summed up. Leo stared at him. All the Son of Hephaestus could see outside their cave was darkness, maybe a meter of floor but that was it. A very small light at the top of their cage delivered all the light available and Leo could see no tanks or other cages at all.

"How-"

"I'm used to the dark." Nico cut him off without further explanation. Leo decided to keep it shut, since Nico didn't seem to be the best person to have an argument with. He would never admit it but his whole black getup and black sword and the shadows under his eyes gave Leo the creeps. He looked like some 35 year old midlife crisis guy even though he could barely be 14 years of age, judging by his height and face structure.

"Okay, ferrets then…what do we do now? Anybody still got weapons on them?" Leo asked, rubbing his forearm, where his wristweapon had been rudely torn from. It was the only part of his body that wasn't covered in mud. The others all shook their heads as an answer and Nico lifted a hand before his body as if he wanted to grab something In midair. His face was concentrated for a moment but nothing happened. He sighed.

"I thought so…this cave is somehow magically enchanted. I can't use my powers. What about you guys?" the others also tried their powers out and Leo also lifted his hand, trying to summon flames. No heat reached his fingertips at all and frustrated, he gripped his wrist with the other hand, trying to make it stronger. Again, nothing.

"Must be some powerful magician to completely block the power of children of the eldest gods." Grover muttered and made a miserable goat sound. Silently, the Son of Hephaestus agreed with him and stared into the dark outside their imprisonment. Ferrets, Nico said? What was it with ferrets on their way…there had been those in the house where they had spent several nights in Colorado and then there were those in the other houses, like they were living there. One of them had bit him, he would most likely not forget that very soon. His finger still stung a little now and then, whenever they had a quiet minute to calm down. It was quite silent for a while now and Leo was getting really restless. Four guys in a small room like this and no way out…it wasn't really helping his ADHD.

"Well, there must be a way out somehow-" Jason broke the silence but interrupted himself quickly as out of the blue, right next to them, a bright pink liquid began to rise out of the pipe that was connected to the tank. It was quite thick and seemed to bubble somehow. Leo immediately thought of these potions you saw in Cartoons or TV shows. Now were did they land, potions room of Hogwarts? As the potion hit the ground, it made a strange hissing sound and Nico grumbled a pretty offensive Greek curse under his breath.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" Leo crawled away from the liquid but soon, it would reach all of their feet anyway since it began to cover the entire floor. Luckily, it was not acid, as he had first thought. Their shoes were still unharmed. But even as the disgusting liquid continued rising, nothing seemed to happen. It rose and rose but none of them could do anything to open the glass cage. In desperation, they began to hit the walls and scream I hope somebody could hear them. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"I have no idea what this is but I bet it will fill the whole prison. We'll have to swallow it at some point…or it could even go through our skin! And something else… I have the strange feeling that the ferrets in the other cages aren't just ferrets…", Nico finally exclaimed, his almost black eyes fixed on the liquid as he tried to keep it away from his hands. He had stayed the calmest of them all, even more than Jason as Leo observed, quietly watching the liquid rise below them, at this moment reaching their hips. And that was when it also dawned on Leo. Nico di Angelo was right.

In a matter of minutes, they would all be transformed into ferrets.

* * *

_Dudun. Yeah well...I don't know if it was obvious enough but the ferrets in Colorado were a clue I put there on purpose. It'll be explained next chapter why Circe chose ferrets over guinea-pigs :) I'm sorry it's so short but this was just the boy's side so I would have had to write even more filler writing to make it longer. Next chapter will be much longer, the girls have quite much to do after all xP_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Monocole Motors  
_

**_Next Question: IN THE DEMIGOD FILES, WHAT ARE THE ANTS CALLED THAT KIDNAP BECKENDORF AND HAD FESTUS' HEAD IN THEIR POSESSION?_**


	90. Puzzle Solving with Hazel Noctua

_September, 25th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to:**_ 1 fan, PeaceLoveAndCheese, impatientkid_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Oh my dear god, I am SOO sorryyyyy T_T...Again. University started and I'm so busy meeting my friends again, managing my apartment and stuff like that. Then we had visitors he so I couldn't say 'Hey, I'll disappear to just write my fanfiction here. Kthxbye'. Wasn't really possible and I'm so grateful that you're STILL sticking with me ;_; I can't say enough how much I love you guys :)_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XC**

**Percy**

In his unconscious state, Percy felt like he was drifting. It wasn't like his other dreams at all. Around him there was black and the feeling was quite the opposite to when he had seen Annabeth. And this time, there wasn't any comforting fire of Hestia to keep him company and warmth either. It was just sort of…nothingness with a really uncomfortable feeling about it, like it was pressing onto him from all sides. Was this Hades? No, couldn't be. Something told him Hades looked very different to this. Still, it may have been that earth woman. He still wondered who she actually was…and he had the feeling the answer wouldn't be really good.

Finally, his sea green eyes found the strength to open. His muscles felt like lead and he groaned, his hand immediately grapping his forehead. The skin there was covered by a wet tissue but otherwise he seemed to be burning up.

"What the…where in the name of the gods are we?" he asked as Gwen's face came into focus. He still felt dizzy and it was strangely bright around them. Then he felt the movement underneath him. Wherever he was, the floor was rocking back and forth, like they were on a-

"Gwen…why are we on a boat?" he asked slowly, really not sure what answer to expect. But Gwen just shook her head and pressed him back down when he tried to sit himself up to look around.

"Oh no young man, you're staying right where you are. You almost died on me again right there, no way I'll let you wander around very soon. Here, drink up." She handed him a Coke and Zoe appeared beside him, carefully helping him up. While he opened the can, he took a look around. By the looks of it, it was around late afternoon and they were on a middle sized wooden boat in the middle of a giant lake. His nose and Son-of-Poseidon-senses told him it was a salt water lake, too.

"Are we back in Salt Lake City?", he asked his third question and this time, someone finally answered him. Zoe, who still sat next to him, changing his tissue, smiled down at him.

"Yes, we are. After you fainted, we had to move really quickly. No direction was save, everywhere we went, the earth turned liquid and tried to swallow us down. We were lucky you were still holding the seal." She pointed to his other hand, which hadn't moved an inch since he woke up. And indeed, there was the seal, and he was gripping onto it as if his life depended on it. Which it did, of course. But his fingers won't move and so he used his other hand to loosen the grip. It was as if he had a spasm that wouldn't loosen. Zoe continued talking.

"Well, we saw no way out, really. Finally, Hazel had the idea to get ourselves a boat and hide on the saltwater. She said something about Hellhounds not returning from the sea. I personally thought she had gone nuts-"

"Hey, I heard that.", Hazel commented from the other side of the boat. Wasn't really big after all.

"Anyway, it worked, obviously. No swallowing from the earth until now." She gestured around them and indeed, the water was really still. There were several other boats on the lake now but nobody questioned the seven teenagers on a wooden boat right in the middle. Percy nodded slowly and looked down at the seal.

"Yes…yes, that's it! Hazel, you're a genius. Earth, she's an earth goddess and somehow has no power over my father's domain! That means we're save her for now. But where to then…" he raised his eyebrows, looking at the others while nipping on his coke, enjoying the sugar in it. Somehow it was doing wonders and he leaned slightly to the side so he could touch the water and rub some of it in his face. Immediately, he felt a little better and sighed heavily. Hazel interrupted the silence.

"We already thought of that. And I think I even know who we are facing." The daughter of Minerva now looked directly at Percy. She may have not trusted him before but right now, she seemed to be talking directly to him, reporting what they had been discussing about. Her skin was pale and she looked exhausted. But now that he thought about it, the others did too.

"So, who is it then? I don't really recall an earth goddess within the Olympians.", Percy questioned and Hazel nodded. She glanced at them separately and swallowed hard.

"There is only one possibility. I…I think it must be Gaea. Mother earth, creator of the land and mother to the Titans and Giants." She concluded and Percy's sea green eyes widened. He almost dropped the seal.

"But…..but that's impossible! She's ancient! Wasn't she….I don't know, faded? Asleep?" he asked desperately. Honestly? Well that was just his luck, was it? The opposite of Uranus, the one that held up the sky. Gaea, the earth herself. How could they fight her?! Images flashed his mind. Pictures of what first looked like a cave but was soon identified as the place where Atlas the Titan stood, holding up the sky to prevent Gaea and Uranus from joining and the earth from collapsing. A weight on his shoulders burdened him down, weighing him to the ground and burning his mind bright red like fire. As he snapped out of it, he still felt his heartbeat having risen and grabbed his shirt there, staring at the very ground of the boat with wide eyes. On the outside though, he let out a laugh that was a mixture of amused and nervous.

"Chronos. Well great. As if he wasn't enough, now we get his mother." Zoe giggled but the Romans remained serious. Reyna leaned forward.

"Are you telling me you fought in the last war?" she asked, astonished. Then again, that was probably logical. Percy nodded. Hazel seemed to think about something.

"Mh…yeah, Chronos. Tough fella. It was such a relieve when he faded as we destroyed his thrown back last summer." Now it was Percy's turn to be baffled.

"What do you mean? Chronos didn't just fade, he was killed!" he exclaimed, somehow feeling personally offended by that sentence. Hazel looked up and shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess. The gods did it when they finished off Typhon. They got back to Olympus and killed him with their united power.", she reasoned. But Percy just stared at her. He suddenly got quiet as a part of his memory rushed into place and did NOT fit with what Hazel was saying. His voice now reduced to almost a whisper.

"No, the gods didn't kill Chronos….That's just not right.", the Son of Poseidon said and looked down at the lake water. Hazel crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

"Oh yeah? Then who did it then, oh all-knowing Perseus Jackson?", she asked with a sarcastic tone and Percy now looked up, staring directly into her grey eyes that resembled those of Annabeth so much but then again were so much different.

"I did.", he breathed. His hand wandered to his head as he remembered. Images flashed into his head of golden eyes and blonde hair, Annabeth with desperation in her eyes. There was a guy with brown curly hair he had seen before and a gigantic room with twelve thrones and a fire that was almost dying. He heard sounds of a fight and his hands now closed around the side of the boat so he wouldn't tumble over and fall into the lake. The Romans just stared at him. Then, Hazel got mad. And Bobby did and even Reyna.

"WHAT?! How could you even think of telling such lies! There's just no way-"

"He's telling the truth.", Zoe suddenly interrupted the ranting Hazel. Now she was the person being stared at. Percy also stared. How could she know? But in her dark eyes, he saw it. She had somehow had a vision or a hunch. He had seen it before, on another person. This type of precognition was unique only to…yeah well, to oracles.

"And how would you know that, huh?" Reyna snarled at her but Percy knew the answer to that. Or at least he thought he did.

"Y-You're an oracle! Like the oracle of Delphi is! You're having visions and precognition of things that didn't happen, right? Or of things that happened far in the past, things you couldn't possibly know. I had a friend once, the same thing happened to her…", he mused and Zoe just nodded. Hazel shook her head though.

"No, no that's not possible. There's only one Oracle and it faded a long time ago.", she said. Percy had to role his eyes at this and had to withstand the temptation to stand up and walk over to the daughter of Minerva. The boat would turn over. Instead, he leaned forward eagerly.

"Don't you see? You were _told _these lies! We all were. I can't believe I'm the one seeing this, actually. I'm a goddamn Greek Demigod! You were told these don't even exist. You were told Chronos was killed by the gods but in reality, I did it. And as far as I remember, we were told that the throne crumbled when I defeated him. Greeks and Romans were kept apart for some reason and we were hidden from so many things. But what for…" his thoughts wandered off while suddenly, Dakota bumped into the conversation. She had been so quiet Percy had almost forgotten she was right next to him.

"Wait. THE Greeks? We? You mean there are others like you? Another Castra even?", she asked and Percy slowly nodded.

"Yes…yes, I think so. It's all slowly coming back to me. There are more where I came from. They…_we _fought the war in Manhattan, we defended the Olymp with our own lives while the gods were fighting Typhon. I trained there, it's called Camp, my home…" the Demigod drifted off, his thoughts racing with more images coming back as he spoke. Faces, names, even pictures of camp itself. He thought his head was already heavy, but now it was threatening to explode. He held it with his hands, running his fingers through his hair while the others were rendered speechless. Percy thought they might attack him, might protest and demand on finding that Greek camp, seeing as they hated the Greeks so much. Surprisingly, they stayed quiet and even Hazel didn't demand anything. Far better, she trailed off over that thought and went on with their previous discussion.

"Wait a minute….that woman in the forest! She said you destroyed her son! She meant Chronos. But then she's really…Oh dear gods!" she held her mouth and her grey eyes were widened in horror. Dakota raised her eyebrow and spoke the question that was in all their heads:

"Who? Who is it? Who are we facing, Hazel?", she asked, but she seemed afraid of the answer, judging by her face. Hazel slowly turned her head and looked directly at Percy this time. There was no hate there any more. She didn't think of him as the enemy, even if she didn't speak it out loud. It seemed as if a puzzle had been put together in her head and she finally saw what was happening here.

"It's Gaea. The earth. Mother to the Titans and Giants and so many more! She must have awoken from her sleep. It never said she died or anything, just went to sleep….and now she's woken up! The gods…they must have known what was happening and so they send Percy from that other camp over to ours without any more information so we could see that he wasn't an enemy, that we could work with him and that maybe, the Greeks weren't that bad. If there is another camp, if we're like two separated sides of a coin, then maybe…M-maybe Jason is there to do the same! It's like an exchange…Oh my dear gods, that plan is brilliantly evil and risky! But honestly, whoever thought of it, it's the only way…if they had send in a bunch of Greeks, we would have just killed them and never know. But this way…" she laughed dryly and looked away from Percy now.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but you might actually be right, Perseus. We were all deceived. Zoe might actually be an oracle of some sort and you are a Greek Demigod and there's a Greek Camp in New York and you went to Olympus and oh Zeus knows, even the Underworld! Basically everything is possible now and Gaea knows it. That's one of the reasons she wants you dead, Percy. You hold too much information, too much danger." She ranted on. It seemed as if she was in some hot phase of thought, were she had to talk everything out to get it right in her head. Everyone of them was looking at her and Percy was almost staring, remembering how Annabeth used to have phases like this too, ranting on and on with nobody really following her thoughts. Yet again, Hazel had a point. And she went straight on.

"We _have _to get back. Right now. We have the seal, we're in a city with an airport. We could take the air route and escape Gaea. Now that we know the whole earth is our enemy, we can avoid it. The ocean is save because she had ocean Titans back in her day. She doesn't have as much power over the water, that's why the monsters she keeps bringing back from Tartarus are able to die when thrown into the water. Come on. Let's get this boat to shore, we get to the airport and out of here. I'm sure Lupa is waiting for the seal and they may even be under heavy attack in our absence!", she concluded and began frantically paddling with the paddle they had inside the boat. But Percy stopped them from getting forward, his hands grabbing the reiling like his life depended on it.

"Wait, wait! Airport? We can't take a plane, that's suicide!" he exclaimed. Hazel and the others stared at him. His previous confessions were enough, but this seemed like the most unlogical thing he uttered since he met them.

"And why would that be?" Hazel asked, completely irritated.

"I'm a son of Poseidon! My uncle Zeus isn't exactly fond of me hanging around his territorium. The ground and Pegasi are pretty neutral but Underworld and Air are forbitten for me, even if it's flying shoes. A plane is like a personal insult and I really like not to personally insult the Lord of Heaven.", Percy admitted with a gulp. Hazel seemed to think about his words. Then Reyna stepped in. She had been so quiet all along, Percy forgot she was actually the one in charge, the one deciding.

"We have to risk it. When we go by ground, we're all swallowed. Trust me, we tried it. You are going to fly this plane and Jupiter is going to let you, because otherwise, we're probably all doomed anyway.", she stated coldly and waved him to get their boat to shore. Percy gulped but he obeyed her, reminding himself of what Hestia told him.

"Fine." He grumbled and turned the boat around with his powers, making it go back to shore.

* * *

_Dudun. So yeah, Hazel puts it all together. Finally. I know you wanted her to get into conclusion action earlier but it would have pretty much ruined the whole story and their way of handling things. Hope it's okay for now :)_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Myrmekes  
_

**_Next Question: _**_(easy one again)_**_ WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE TWO SNAKES OF HERMES CADECEUS?_**


	91. Back at the Castra, finally!

_October, 21th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_Lamia, blazerules34, StormQueen67, SmilingSim, Roxanne's Diary, olegnAiDociN, readingqueen811, GirlInThatDress, Abby-Jade-Love, KirstyH96, MehhPerson, 1 fan, impatientkid, olympusgirl12, PeaceLoveAndCheese, Spidermite  
_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Oh dear...almost a month? I'm really sorry for this again. But this time, I even have an excuse (when haven't I? hehe). University started so there is automatically little time to write. I started an art challenge a couple of days ago so I have to draw every day and hardly have any time to do something besides that and university stuff or meeting with my friends. Oh well, I promised that I would continue, so I will. I told you, no matter how long it takes, I will ;P. Never breaking my promises :D_

_oh, and of couse: MARK OF ATHENAAAAA_

**_~~Spoilers ahead~~_**

_Oh my gods, I loved this book so much! It was way darker and deeper than the last ones, yet it had this certain brightness of the characters to it. They were all genius, I even began to like Jason and Piper much more than I did before. After this book, I just can't dislike any of the seven, they are all just adorabe and great in their own way. I love the idea of mini quests and the final plotline in Rome with Annabeth and the Mark of Athena was pure genius. I thought I knew how cool Annabeth was but this...was just exploding and putting down all my expectations. And Percabeth...so much Percabeth! It's like RR wants to make up for the last two books or something. It's all there...gazes, touches, cool lines, whitty commentary, cuddling in the stables, worry about one another and then the final act of falling down to Tartarus together. I mean, seriously? Tartarus? How can he even that to us...I was boiling my eyes out when I read this. And now another year? ANOTHER FREAKEN YEAR for "House of Hades". Seriously? RR, you are the biggest troll to ever live. _

_And Nico's back! Yay. I sure hope we get a Nico POV in the next book. And one of Percy or Annabeth. Because I would die not knowing what happened to them for a whole book... ._. btw, did anybody notice how so many elements in that book were also in my story? Salt Lake City, the island in the salt lake, Keto, ...and then, in the demigod diaries (that I just got), there's the giant I also used. I felt seriously strange about all this...maybe I'm just being paranoid though, as I always am xD. _

**_~~Spoilers end~~_**

_Seriously, if you haven't read it yet, do it! It just keeps me going to see such brilliant work again :3._

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCI**

**Percy**

Flying was like sitting on top of a boiling bowl of Lava and the plank below you was cracked. He felt like every second, the plank would break and their plane would crash down to earth, leaving them swirling through the air helplessly until they crush to the ground or might as well just be swallowed by it. Every turbulence, every air hole, Percy felt his hands getting all sweaty and clinging to the seat. Lucky for him, Zoe didn't feel much better next to him on the right. On his left though, two seats away at the isle (between them was Dakota), Reyna seemed pretty much amused.

"You can't tell me you haven't flown a plane before. How do you even get around?", she asked, while the plane was up in the air and Zoe sat up to catch a small glance out the window. They had caught some last minute tickets for cheap and somehow still had just enough money left for the flight. Not that the son of Poseidon was really thrilled about that. He glared at Reyna as good as he could and pressed his lips together before answering.

"I did, okay? But it was an emergency and I'm certainly never doing it again if I can help it.", he countered, then swallowed.

"Last time I saw Zeus, he even forbid it word by word. I'm not saying I like following his orders but I was once seated in a car that was struck by his lightning –no wait, twice- and I don't want to resume that experience up in the air, thank you very much.", he pressed through his teeth. Reyna seemed less amused but still shook her head. From before them, Hazel's head arose above the back of her seat.

"He won't do that, this quest is necessary. And if Hera is really behind the plan, even if she is the only goddess, she may be able to calm him down." She said and tried to sound really logical, as always. Percy wanted to roll his eyes, but quickly caught himself.

"Well, there's still Hestia, I guess. She _did_ say she wanted to talk to Zeus.", he murmured, not paying any attention to whether the others heard it or not. Hazel jerked up though and Reyna was suddenly leaning over Dakota's lap, trying to get Percy to look at her.

"What did you say? Hestia? Like in Lady Vesta? Where'd you meet her of all goddesses?" she asked curiously and Percy had to swallow because a little bump in their flight disturbed his thoughts. He then quickly returned to them and shrugged.

"She was the one to save me from dying back at the lake. I think she owed me from the war…we were talking about some…things and she gave me her blessing so we could fight together as one to defeat Keto.", he explained and Hazel slowly nodded, obviously pleased with that answer. Percy could see that she was holding herself back from staring at him and yelling that he was talking about things there were most unlikely. Obviously, Percy was nothing that could define as "normal", even in the world of demigods.

"So that's why you were glowing?", Reyna asked and Percy raised an eyebrow.

"I was glowing? Oh yes, that. Yeah, that was her.", he said, remembering the time when he looked down on himself and saw a certain red glow to his body. That must've looked weird for the others. Zoe looked over from her seat and her pale face was alarmed.

"Is it normal that the giant metal bird is heading down like this?", she asked and Hazel, obviously caught out of her thoughts, nodded.

"Yeah, we should be there soon. San Francisco, we're finally back!", she smiled and it was a strange sight, since she didn't smile very much. Percy just had to smirk himself a bit but it soon vanished when he realized that they would probably be cycling around the airport a thousand times before the plane finally landed on the ground save and sound.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Percy's shaking legs made hold of the ground once more. He felt like bouncing around out of joy but his legs weren't of the same opinion as he was so he just left it to Zoe, who swirled in cycles like a little joyful child, which he assumed she still was, in a way. They got themselves a taxi with their last remaining money and it drove them to the tunnel where they had come from when escaping the camp. Reyna did her usual thing and the tunnel opened for them to step through. The sun had already long set behind the horizon so it was pitch dark when they arrived at the Castra on the other end of the tunnel. Immedeately, they had weapons at their necks and Percy had the sudden urge to grin even though a golden sword pointed directly at his face.

"Yeah…it sure is good to be back.", he concluded in a sarcastic tone, which startled the soldier until they recognized their faces in the dim light of their lanterns and finally put down their weapons.

"You actually made it!" one of them cried out in joy and on the second glance, all of the soldiers seemed really worn out. There were two Venus campers here and three of the Mars guys from Reyna's cabin. All of them had full armor on and vary expressions on their faces, rings under their eyes. The others also seemed to notice this, since their previously happy and content faces turned into grave ones.

"What happened here?", Hazel asked and her gaze flew over the valley below them. There were several fires burning to light up the stratetic points of the Castra, like the main hall, the beach, the stables and the tents. But even though it was night, there were many patrols running around, hardly anybody was in their tents. Some of the tents even seemed half burned or worn out, a piece was broken out of the main hall and Percy quickly had a conclusion to what happened before anybody could answer Hazel.

"Monster attacks?", he asked and one of the Mars kids nodded.

"Many.", he specified and a Venus kid next to her shuddered violently.

"It was horrible. As soon as you were gone, we had army after army come through the mist. It was as if they didn't even bother with it and had no problems coming through at all. Luckily, we had enough soldiers and Lupa to defend us. But without you all…it was a hard time…we lost many and the infirmary is completely overfilled.", he explained and Gwen next to Percy suddenly stepped forward.

"I'll go help them out." And she wanted to sprint forward immediately. Percy wanted to grap her but it was Dakota who came first, her smile gently calling Gwen back to them.

"Gwen, we just came back. We should first report to Lupa and then go get some rest. You can help your siblings in the morning right after breakfast but for now, let's just go see what Lupa has to say to all we went through." She reasoned and everybody seemed astonished she was the one to reason with Gwen that way. Percy just had to smile at it though. Even though he rejected her, Dakota seemed to really grow out of it somehow, so at peace with the situation even though she may also be hiding what she really felt. The smile she soon shot Percy dismissed that idea from his head though.

"Fine.", Gwen finally gave in and they made their way past the patrol, who seemed to have many questions in their head but none of them dared to ask any further about what happened to them while they were attacked so many times. Percy mustered their little group. AS they went through the Castra, they were hardly stopped or looked at because their clothes were just as torn, their faces just as worn out as any of the others, if not even worse. Now that they were back here, Percy felt like he could go to his tent and sleep in that hammock for at least three days straight. Unfortunately, a visit to Lupa the wolf came first. The goddess was seated in her seat in the main hall, obviously not leaving the camp for her cave and more due to the immediate danger that was at stake. The whole legion bowed down before her as they approached, even Percy. He tried to remind himself of what Hestia told him and honestly, if it helped to avoid further loss of memory and other mistreatment from gods, he could maybe get used to it….maybe. Probably not.

"Show it to me." Were the first words Lupa spoke when Reyna finished her shortened report. Thought it had been really detailed, Percy had relived everything in his head and it hadn't been exactly pleasant. With a nod, Percy arose from the floor now and walked over to Lupa, the seal now grasped with both hands. He lifted it in front of the wolf's head and her silver eyes stared at it for a few seconds, watching the little waves and storms form and collapse again.

"Yes. That is indeed magnificent. It will provide us perfect protection. Percy, you are the only one who can wield it I assume?", she asked and Percy nodded in agreement. Lupa looked upon all of them and her gaze rested on Zoe for a short moment. Then she glittered her teeth, Percy wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a smile.

"Then you, Reyna and Hazel should ride to the wolf house with me at first light, placing the seal where it can be most effective.", she said. Hazel and Reyna immediately nodded without questioning but Percy sighed.

"Yare you serious? I hardly slept the last nights, can't we at least sleep in or something?" he complained but Lupa immediately growled.

"Percy Jackson. We have been through days and nights of fighting, that can be over just by placing the seal in your hand. Are you willing to operate for us romans or are you not?", she questioned and Percy raised his eyebrows. The others also stared at him as if that was a honest question they were all asking themselves. Perceus Jackson had the nerve to laugh.

"Are you serious? You think I went through all of this and am not loyal to you in the slightest? Oh come on, Lupa. You can't really be that paranoid. These people are just as loyal and brave as any Greek demigod I know and I'm not going to just abandon you, okay? All I was asking is the opportunity to sleep in, nothing more", he grumbled and Lupa then suddenly laughed as well, though her laugh was not as dry as Percy's. The others still stared at him but their gaze had softened recognizably.

"Very well. We will depart at 8 then, is that late enough for you, lazy Greek?", Lupa asked with a smirk. Percy wanted to say that 8 was hardly sleeping in but then he remembered the Romans normally got up at 5 so he sighed inwardly and nodded.

"Yes, thanks. That's much better.", he admitted and sat back down on the floor with the others, cradling the seal in his lap. After a few minutes of final discussion, Lupa dismissed them to bed. They decided to take the matter of Gaia and their other worries to the round table meeting in the morning. When he was about to leave the giant hall as well, Lupa called him back to have a private talk without the others or her close wolf companions. She was sitting on her high seat and quickly jumped down to him, coming closer to him on the ground.

"So, did you find what I was asking you to look for? Your curse is gone, there has to be some reason for that.", she questioned and Percy nodded slowly, having expected that exact question.

"Yes, I did indeed. I met Lady Hestia on our journey, she took me and healed me when I was close to dying because of the curse and poison. She also helped me figure out the essence lesson and told me to accept the fact that I can't always be a leader to everyone and that in a team, everybody is just as important as the other. I think I understand it...even though it's hard to just accept that and carry on, to be honest.", he grinned and had to scratch the back of his head out of habit. As if thinking about that, Lupa tilted her head and was silent a few seconds. Finally, she nodded.

"Very well. You shall go to bed, then. I believe we still have much to discuss in the morning. For now, I'm glad you are all back alive and well, despite the enemy we are obviously facing.", she dismissed him like that and Percy nodded gravely.

As he stepped out into the night, the little fires around the camp being the only light beside the stars and the moon above them, Percy thought about what the future might bring with it. This might only be the beginning. There were so many more dangers to come if Gaia of all goddesses was really their enemy. That would certainly be nothing compared to anything he faces before, even Kronos. He sighed and his eyes flew up to the stars, spotting one of the constellations Annabeth has taught him: the W that was the constellation of Cassiopeia and he had to smile. She was still out there somewhere, he was certain of it. No matter where, he would find her and then they could go through this together, just as last time.

Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope left for all of them.

* * *

_Yeah...no cliffhanger this time xD. This could be the end if I wanted to XDDD would be really teasing and torturing though. Don't worry, you'll know how the others escape and what happens next :3. _

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ George and Martha  
_

_**Next Question:** **WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE GIANT THAT PERCY AND ANNABETH FOUGHT TOGETHER AT THE HIGHLINE **(In the Demigod Diaries. It's easy, since he also was in this story. Btw, seriously, Riordan? -_-)_**_?_**


	92. How to escape a Sorceress

_November, 17th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: **_sigyn, KirstyH96, 1 fan, olegnAiDociN__  
_

**A/N: **_Hey there, my __loyal readers! :3_

_Oh dear...almost a month? Again...? Yeah, I'm really sorry...again. Oh god I feel so bad for making you wait! Is anybody still reading this? are you mad at me? Because I could punch myself for not continuing but I got myself so much work for unisversity and hurled myself into another Fandom (Merlin this time) and was reading so much about it and my mind was elsewhere but today I drew Percy once again and came back in the mood for writing :D. We're nearing the end now so I'll try and hurry up things a bit xD. Not too much, don't worry. Just hurrying up my writing so you don't have to wait another month (I really hope. Oh gods I'm so SORRY T_T)_

_For now just enjoy the chapter...I hope it's not too confusing and irrational? Well just look..._

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCII**

**Annabeth**

Grey eyes stared at the floor intently while the mind of the daughter of Athena before the sorceress had begun racing with possibilities. Circe…it was really her. Last time they met, she had turned Percy into a guinea-pig. Whatever her plan was now, Annabeth Chase was not planning to let her win. The odds may stand against them but she had always been the one to try and turn the tables, no matter how dire the situation. Her gaze lifted from the floor and again, met Circe's.

"Why haven't you killed us yet? Where are the boys? Transformed into guinea-pigs already? In the next room maybe?" she said with an undertone that suggested how very _fond _she was of Circe's methods. Or rather how she was disgusted by them. Circe on the other hand began smiling once again. No good sign, Annabeth guessed.

"Oh, you're asking the right questions already, huh? In fact, there is a reason. The boys should be struggling with the potion right about now and I brought you here because I wanted to offer your two friends if they wanted to grab the opportunity to join me. I ran out of magical servants and assistants ever since you raided my island all those years ago. No half-blood was left, not even Hylla. I don't know what happened to them but I couldn't find them anywhere. Now I know that you are a hopeless case for magic, so I just brought you to give myself the satisfaction of killing you while you're right awake and I can watch the pain in your far too pretty little face." She giggled an evil laugh and then turned to the others. Still, she kept talking. Good, that gave Annabeth time to think.

"I gave up on guinea-pigs though. They are far too messy, even if they're not really pigs. And they're lazy and grow fat so easily. I settled for-"

"Ferrets.", Annabeth finished her sentence bitterly. Of course, she had long figured that out. The town, Colorado Springs, had been half empty despite ferrets living in the houses all on their own. Circe must have taken the women from that part of town as servants –there were a few rushing around next door, she could see them through a half open door- and the men were transformed into animals, like Circe always did it. This men-hating witch was sure to transform their boys into ferrets too but they couldn't have that. After all, they still had to get to Percy at some point and they had to rescue their world from Gaia, the evil mud face. Okay, she needed to stop thinking like Percy. This was a serious matter. But what to do about it? Suddenly, she had an idea and her mind clicked. Yeah, that could do the trick. The daughter of Athena kept quiet while Circe proceeded to talk and as she had awaited, tried to persuade her two friends to join her.

"You could be powerful and rich in influence. I secure you a place on the right side of this war, the winning side. You are but a few against the mighty Earth, what do you think you can achieve? But with my power, we could overthrow the gods and make this world ours to command. No men and nobody to boss us around. I'm sure you'd understand, Thalia. You're a huntress, am I right? You can only be hating the dirty men in this world just as much as I do." She smiled at Thalia in an almost sweet way and tilted her head, an arm unfolded in her direction as if offering to lift her up not only from the floor but also in status, in power. Annabeth wasn't worried in the slightest that Thalia would decline. Much had changed ever since she awoke from that tree. Being a hunter had made her much more peaceful within herself and even if she still had her flaws, power hunger was no longer one of the main streaks. And her best friend didn't disappoint. She just grinned smugly.

"Oh, you got that wrong, C.C.. I don't hate _all_ men. In fact, I love my cousins and my little brother to the core. And standing against my mistress and my father in an allout war like the last one, where I was close to death far too many times to count but still survived through it all…no thank you." Her blue eyes sparked and she balled her hands to fists. Annabeth assumed she was building up electricity already.

"I'd rather die." She stated with a stable, almost threatening voice. Her hand shot up very suddenly, reaching for Circe's hand in response but as filled with electricity as it was, Circe was rather unpleased with the contact, being shaken by electricity. She cursed and tried to let go but Thalia held on firmly, a grin forming on her freckled face. Suddenly, Circe recovered from her astonishment and with a lot of difficulty, pulled away from the daughter of Zeus, at the same time throwing up a force field around her, throwing Thalia back a few meters until she finally met the wall opposite Annabeth. The field built up like a circle around the sorceress so the daughter of Athena herself was also affected, falling to the floor once again, huffing uot her breath as she hit the ground rather hard. Her concern was more for Thalia though, who seemed to be unconscious, leaning with her back against the farther wall. She wanted to scream her name in worry but saw something flicker in her face and looked closer. The demigod had her right eye opened just one bit and winked at her friend before closing them once again, pretending to be knocked out. Very good. That would be useful lateron.

Circe still recovered from the electricity an seemed in a far grumpy mood than seconds before. Her mad glance fell on Piper, who had been the only one not affected by the force field because she apparently had sat in a more stable position and nor crouched back on her hands and feet, away from the sorceress. Circe on the other hand didn't hesitate to follow, a far too sweet smile on her lips that made her look almost crazy.

"Good, at least that little creep is out of the way. Never liked lightning magic anyway. How about you, daughter of Aphrodite? I'm sure your heritage would alow you to be far more powerful than most of your siblings, most of all demigods at that. You could beat Thalia no problem, see what my magic did to her! As if daughters of Zeus were strong, HA! You could be far more powerful with persuation and other things a daughter of Aphrodite could learn. Especially from me…" Annabeth realized too late that Circe had begun to use charmspeak. Obviously, she didn't want to risk another attack. First, the daughter of Athena had been affected but then she saw Piper beginning to raise her head, recovering from the shock of being almost thrown back and feeling the power of the sorceress. Her colourful eyes filled with determination as she realized that Circe didn't know she possessed the power of charmspeak as well. It didn't affect her. At all. So the daughter of Aphrodite began to stand up while still stumbling backwards. She had no weapons on her but she reached for something behind her, looking out for a wall or something to throw maybe. But she decided to answer the witch too, calling upon her most powerful voice.

"I would never in my life do such a thing. My mother is the goddess of love and I trust the boys and my comrades with all I have. I would never betray them, not for the likes of you. Now, Circe, I'm sure you'll just let me and the others go, as I'm sure you're not as cruel as the stories say, right?" she asked in a really sweet voice that Annabeth had to struggle not to nod to. A few steps away from Piper, Crice seemed momentarily confused. She blinked twice, then her eyes became slits. Obviously, the charmspeak had not worked on her eather, but it had held her back and made her stop in her actions for a few seconds. Annabeth smiled. Maybe that would already be enough.

"Oh, I AM, trust me. And if you refuse me too, I might as well dispose of you!" she screamed and began forming words in ancient greek with her mouth, magical words…a curse! Annabeth's mind raced, trying to search for a way to get Piper out of this. Fortunately, the daughter of Aphrodite found it herself. In desperation, she had gripped for something behind her and threw it at the sorceress out of instinct. Before she could even realize what it was, the little flask hit her square on the shoulder, breaking and spilling the liquid inside all over her. Circe screamed as her skin seemed to boil and Piper gasped at what she had done without intension. She shot a quick glance behind her. A desk full of little potions sat there, behind some kind of curtain so it was not visible at first glance.

"Keep doing that!", Annabeth shouted with a half grin and struggled to stand up with her hands and feet still tied together. Piper nodded but had to dodge once Circe just shot a spell at her. A view vials exploded above her head but she luckily avoided being hit by most of it. Another one flew in the direction of the sorceress and Annabeth decided that the pair of them was occupied for the moment, throwing words and charms and potions at one another. In a way, it looked really silly but the blonde was glad for the distraction anyways. Because then she could get out of these ridiculous things around her wrists.

"Thalia!" she whispered, hoping that her friend could hear her over all the noise. She did, because the raven haired huntress had already moved from her spot and made her way over by ducking behind the curtains and under the tables behind them. Finally, she reached the other side of the fairly round room where the curtains ended and emerged behind Annabeth. Without further comment, she began fumbling the wristbands, her tongue between her teeth. Finally, she cursed and reached for her pocket. Just to find that she was wearing a stupid dress.

"Argh! What's it with ancient women and dresses! I don't even have pockets, for Zeus sake!" she cursed and finally decided to try a different approach.

"I'm going to shock them. This might hurt.", she warned but Annabeth nodded, swallowing the discomfort at that statement. She seldom was at the receiving end of Thalia's electric touched but had seen what they often did to Percy or mostly monsters, so she didn't really want to share that experience at all. But even though it stung, Thalia had made a good job at potioning the shock just right to just deactivate the shackles. With a clang and then another, they finally opened and shattered to the floor. The noise made Circe cringe and look up at them from another spell she had thrown at Piper. She saw Annabeth rubbing her now free hands and Thalia sitting behind her.

"You insolent little brats! You'll regret the day you were born into this world when I'm finished with you!" she cursed and Annabeth assumed she had finally snapped, because now she just began firing spells and curses at them like a out-of-control machine gun. Annabeth dodged one and looked at Thalia quizzically, who shrugged. Even though the sorceress still seemed in control of her curses and shot them at them directly, she didn't even seem to think about putting up traps or shields, she just went into attack mode completely, wanting to finish them off because was obviously really pissed. The blonde didn't really get it. Back when she was twelve, Circe had seemed far more threatening, calm and collected and so very powerful. Now it was just…pathetic somehow. She wondered if losing everything she had build up during her time in the sea of monsters had made her lose her slip somehow. Still, even if she was loosing her mind, the three of them couldn't afford to get hit by any of those spells. They were probably still deadly. Thalia rolled over to the side and reached for her head. Surprisingly, the little needle in her hair was still present just as her tiara was. Annabeth wondered if they were enchanted to stay or return, like Riptide. She had to ask her friend about it after this was over. No matter, Thalia pulled no the needle and when it separated from her head, a bow appeared out of nowhere and silver light emerged from it. The huntress pulled an arrow out of thin air and electricity searched through her as she aimed for her shot. All this happened in merely a few moments and when the arrow flew, it hit the sorceress in her other shoulder, making her stop momentarily. Piper had a few potions in her arm already, dodging around the spells and throwing something occationaly. It was cute, how she looked with all the little vials in her arms and that determination and fierce expression on her cute face. She had really misjudged that girl. Even Silena hadn't been much of a fighter but Piper seemed like she was really putting herself into battle and being good at it. The blonde really liked that.

Annabeth herself grabbed a platter from a table and protected herself from some spells with it. Fortunately, it held out the lesser ones, she had to remove it pretty quickly though because it was completely damaged after two or three powerful spells hit it right on. Every arrow that hit her –and Thalia always hi, she was just that good- made the witch even madder. If it hadn't been for her magical shield she summoned, she would be long wounded fatally. Finally, after a few minutes or shooting and shouting and even more shooting, a potion as well as an arrow hit her right in the chest together. Her shield flickered, she staggered, let out a strangled breath and stared at the opposite wall with shocked eyes. Then, suddenly, she looked up to Annabeth, pure hate in her gaze. The blonde stood still, looking back with something between pity and resolve before finally, the sorceress' eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted.

Unfortunately, the wound around where the arrow had hit immediately began to glow. Golden liquid emerged but quickly began to lessen. Annabeth cursed.

"Styx. We better make it quick, I don't think that'll know her out for long.", she said, quickly running for the door, dragging an exhausted Piper after her. All that running, throwing and using an impossible amount of her power had drained her. Nevertheless, she seemed to have enough power left to protest in bewilderment.

"_Knock her out_?! Thalia hit her freaking chest! How is she not dead?", she asked while stumbling behind her. Thalia turned around while looking through the stuff in the next room hastily. They had to get an access to their weapons, there was no way they could just leave without them. San Francisco was still far away and there was no possibility to get there without them. Or the boys.

"She's a goddess.", Thalia explained. "She won't die just by shooting her with a silver arrow. She's not a wolf. Now where in Hades are these weapons!?" Frustration made her way out of her lungs in a very offensive curse when suddenly, Annabeth looked up from her own search because somebody tipped her shoulder. Out of instinct, she wanted to grab the person's arm and judo throw him but she stopped short when the person yelped and threw up her hands in defeat. It was one of the female servants, dressed in a Greek dress and make up just as Annabeth had had a few years ago. She seemed really nervous, even fearful of them but scratched together her courage to speak.

"T-the mistress put away your weapons in the armory. It's that way…m-mylady." She pointed down the room to a small door that was half covered by another curtain. Annabeth smiled and nodded at Thalia to go there with Piper. She herself remained, raising an eyebrow at the young woman before her. She had brown hair and was merely a few years older than herself, obviously nervous and unsure but also courageous enough to approach her while the other servants were hiding around the corner or in the next room, behind the wooden door.

"Where are our comrades? I'm sorry, but we're in a hurry. You probably know that…how long have you been here for?" she asked, obvious concern in her voice. It wasn't nice to be taken hostage…she wasn't even sure if Circe tried to make them sorcerers. Maybe they were just serving her. The girl nodded.

"A few months now. She just invaded our neighborhood and my father and brother…I hope they're well…" she looked down but quickly caught herself. "Oh I'm sorry! Your comrades are just outside and down to the left in the potion hall. They're trapped in there, I don't know a way to get them out though! I'm so sorry.." she said, obviously out of hope for the boys. But Annabeth just smiled thankfully and put a hand on the girl's shoulder while Thalia approached behind her, handing her her knife. She also was given her backpack and a little light emerged from under it, flying happily around Annabeth's head as if it was happy to see her. Oh, she had wondered where Lumi had left to, almost missed that little comrade. The girl followed her gaze but Annabeth now spoke to her with her weapon at her waist again.

"Don't worry, we'll find a way. You should all get out of here while Circe is unconscious. Find the next plane and take a flight east. Or go to the police. Just take some of her treasures for money or something, you have to flee. Good luck!" she waved after pressing her shoulder slightly and followed her two friends, who were already making their ways outside to look for the others…

* * *

_Blub. Nothing to say really...so yeah. Let's see if the boys are still human?! ;P Next chapter will be Nico POV :D Look forward to it XD_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Cacus  
_

_**Next Question:** **WHERE DID PERCY FIRST MEET RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE?** (rather easy one I know xP Too lazy xD)**  
**_


	93. The Darkness within

_November, 17th 2012_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: readingqueen811** (I am! And aww, thanks :3 I'm really glad)**, SmilingSim **(haha thought so xP)**, KirstyH96 **(lol, that sounds complicated xD. But it always shows up later for me too, no worries :3)**, Abby-Jade-Love **(I am! xD)**, blazerules34 **(thanks :3)**, redandwhitetigers, olegnAiDociN **(Haha, you're right of course. These books made my ability to wait for things grow very much xP I'll do what I planned from the beginning, thanks! *hug*), **Guest**,** olympusgirl12**, **impatientkid** (There will be Romans soon, don't worry :3 You just want Percy, admit it XD), **MehhPerson** (I'll try :3 This one was a little faster...I'll try to keep getting it better :) Thanks for waiting though) and **1 fan** (very soon now :3)_  
_

**A/N:**_I decided to answer the comments this way, It's fast and I at laest get to talk to you without going through every single one x_x Thanks so much for the feedback guys! I read all of them every time (I actually wait for them and it's what keeps me going :3 but I ceompletely am out of time/musings to reply xP So this is what I'm ging to do from now on :)_

_Wow, I actually managed something in less than a month xD. No really, I think I might slightly be over my momentary Merlin obsession (not really..let's say I'm in control) and will be able to continue more steadily. Furthermore, we're **really** close to the end so I'll try and make the final as thrilling as I can for you :D. Hope you're still enjoying this even though I'm such a falure of an updater and author D8._

_Nico's POV :3 I think most of you will enjoy this chapter because I really love writing Nico? Or because he has interesting views on things...mh P_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCIII**

**Nico**

Seriously, was this all a big joke? He made all the arrangements to get to help Annabeth find Percy and rescue the whole planet –probably- and what he got was being drowned in a potion that would most probably transform him into a ferret of all things?! This was not going to end here, not if he had a say about it all. So he tried to focus on his powers, surrounded by darkness as they were, it really shouldn't be that hard. Their cage wasn't letting him of course, struggling to keep him separated from the shadows and from the warm they were giving him. Despite popular believe, the shadows Nico di Angelo controlled weren't cold and greedy. They were following his command, they were his extended arm and they were as warm as his body was, even if he at times was really cold like a dead man. At least from what he heard from his follow campmates. Or Percy, who once commented on him being "cold as a corpse" when winter was coming and they had been out in the cold for merely a few minutes…

_While Nico was already ice cold, Percy was still able to flung a snowball at him and make it really sticky and hard just with the warmth of his palms. Nico still remembered his full out laugh when the snowball hit the side of Nico's face and how Percy held his stomach so he didn't fall over from laughing. His laugh was whipped from his face when a shadow behind him suddenly pulled him down like hands emerging from the foot of a tree. He hit the ground hard but because it was snow, it couldn't have hurt that much. Still, the son of Poseidon protested._

"_Hey, no fair! Oh, you just wait, Nico di Angelo, I'll show you…" he suddenly grinned from the ground, his hands making the snow melt more than they should. His green eyes shimmered with victory. Around him, a puddle of water build up really quick and if possible, Nico went far paler than he already was. His cheeks, flushed from the cold before turned white as a sheet. Oh no. How in Hades did he forget about snow being frozen water? He made a mental note to never start a fight with Percy while it was snowing outside. He tried to calm down his cousin. _

"_Look, I don't think we should do this, the meeting is starting and I-" but a wave already rose above Percy's head and Nico winced, swallowing hard. Just then, he tried to concentrate on any shadow around him. Unfortunately, they were in the middle of the meadow and it had snowed, so the ground was a wide pavement of white without any shadow whatsoever. Plus, the only tree nearby whose shadow he had just used was now covered by Percy and the wave behind him. He tried the only possible way left- reaching inside himself. He couldn't much likely summon skeleton warriors to fight his cousin, right? The snow around him turned black as if it was soaked with darkness and he was about to defend himself, when the only voice who could ever restrain a guy like Percy sounded behind them._

"_Hey! What do you think you're doing, Percy? The council meeting starts in a minute and I assume you don't want to be late _again_?" Annabeth walked by, her winter jacket on and her breath leaving puffy little clouds in the air. Immediately, and probably also out of shock about the sudden interruption, Percy completely dropped the wave above him, leaving himself drenched in his very own water. Lucky for him, he didn't get wet but it still looked ridiculous. Annabeth as well as Nico couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The shadows around the son of Hades had disappeared but he had wondered…could he really summon them even if no shadow was there to connect to…?_

Back in the present the son of Hades tried to recharge that feeling. It had been so different than all he'd done before. So he pulled and pulled, feeling a weird sensation in his stomach rise up and poke on his insides. Suddenly, all around him the darkness seemed to intensify. First unnoticed by the others but soon, he earned a few gasps from his fellow travelers.

"What the heck are you doing? Our power is-" but Nico just shook his head. He couldn't speak, he was concentrating too hard. If he opened his mouth to answer Jason right now, everything he had built up inside him would collapse. The pink potion turned dark where it touched him and he managed to form little spears with the building darkness that was swirling around his hand like a plant would wind around a tree. He smiled slightly and while the potion reached his elbow, he turned around to the glass wall behind him and took a deep breath. As he was about to strike, the giant door to the hall suddenly opened and flooded the room with a giant beam of light. They all had to wince at the sudden brightness and Nico let go of his power out of shock, which resulted in the darkness swirling around like clouds until it finally vanished. The others tensed when they saw three figures in the doorframe but Nico just grinned.

"Finally." He breathed. The others may not see it immediately but Nico di Angelo would recognize his cousin and Annabeth anywhere, despite just seeing their silhouettes and them being dressed differently. As their eyes got used to the light again, they saw Annabeth, Thalia and Piper reaching their imprisonment, all obviously out of breath and with unfitting dresses for running but apparently rather well.

"What in Hades.." Annabeth muttered but didn't waste any time before pulling out her knife and fiddling with the pipe that lead into the glass cage. Soon, the pipe was brutally ripped from its settlement and the pink liquid flowed out of the tank from the side, lifting the enchantment that had obviously been blocking their powers and enabling Thalia to shatter the really stable glass around them. Some of the pieces gave them cuts as they fell down around them but luckily, Jason blasted the big ones out of the way with a gust of wind he guided with his powers. A collective breath of relieve was heard amongst the demigods and Grover the Satyr jumped through the room and hugged Thalia and Annabeth tightly.

"Knew you'd show up. What happened, who kept us?", he asked but Annabeth shook her head and handed him his reed pipe as Piper and Thalia handed out the other weapons that they had obviously obtained from somewhere.

"No time. Circe will wake soon, we have to get out of here." She said quickly, with her 'I'll explain later'-voice. Nico wanted to put it away and just run but he hesitated.

"Wait, Circe? What-"

"She said _no time_, Corpse Breath! Aren't you listening!? Now come on." Thalia interrupted his questions and dragged him outside with her hand around his upper arm, squeezing a bit too tightly for his liking.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Can you let go now, you're kind of squeezing the blood out of me." He stated and rolled his eyes at her but Thalia just grinned.

"No, I won't. Don't be such a pussy, Nico. Since when have sons of Hades any blood in their veins anyway? Thought you were a walking corpse." How she could still joke while they were basically running for their lives, Nico had no idea.

"Very funny." He just countered, not being able to say much more as Thalia was apparently a really fast runner and was just dragging Nico along, who didn't hold up to her standards. Damn huntress. He hadn't been running for months now, always being busy in the underworld and mainly taking Mrs. O'Leary to take him anywhere. He was really more the walking type. Of course that wasn't important now. He gave it everything he had because if the person that imprisoned them was really Circe…yep, then he was more than happy to get away from this place.

As they ran, they passed several halls like the one they had come out of. It seemed that Circe had harbored a whole area of warehouses in Sacramento._ IF_ they were still in Sacramento. Knowing their enemies, they could be anywhere but where they actually fell unconscious. Luckily for them though, Sacramento soon came into the view as they quickly hid behind some bushes and went on through those. When they finally had a good distance between the warehouses and themselves, reaching a nearby road, they heard a scream that made your blood run cold because it was filled with unbelievable rage and anger. The voice was high pitched and Annabeth before them flinched a bit.

"That would be Circe awakening. Come on, we have to steal another car and get out of here as soon as possible." She said and turned around. Nico lifted an eyebrow.

"Steal a car? Man, Annabeth. I like your new attitude. You should keep that." He commented but was quickly shut up by the gaze the daughter of Athena shot him. It didn't matter. Nico assumed she had her reasons. And he also assumed he already knew them: She was looking for Percy. Desperately. She had seen him being tortured just before her eyes and it tore her apart that he may not even know her any more, much less be alive and well. The wise girl needed her seaweed brain. It made her complete. He had hung out enough with the both of them to know how they were to each other and how they acted when they were together in a room. It was as if they weren't complete without one another and Nico could see how it made a mess out of his good friend that she wasn't able to see him or know that he was okay or gods forbid touch him, reach for him. Nico had once noticed how much Percy needed Annabeth when she had been missing back in that eventful winter. And they hadn't even been together back then. It must've been much worse now. And Annabeth…yeah, she needed Percy alright. Often, Percy would be the one to find the right words to put her mind at ease when she pondered over things. Or the one to pull her away when she was clearly working or worrying too much about some blueprints. He was her anchor and she was his and without one another, they drifted away into the vast ocean without any maps or whereabouts. Percy would have liked that analogy, Nico thought. Right now, Annabeth looked tired and honestly, the son of Hades was really glad that he had come to aid them on this journey. Until now, he may not have been much good but for the past months, he had felt almost the same. Percy was like a brother to him in most ways, picking on him, insulting him, challenging him but also being there when he needed him most and giving stunningly good advice at times. No, who was he kidding, Percy's advice was horrible. But still, when he had heard of him being taken or whatever had happened to him (he didn't know back then after all), he had been devastated. Worry had kept his mind away from what he was actually supposed to do down in the Underworld and he couldn't imagine what it must have been like for Annabeth if he already was this bad.

Later, when they had escaped Sacramento, he really had to have a talk with her. And maybe with his cousin too. Because the huntress was really getting annoying with her hand around his arm, dragging him about and he glance over to her and her stern expression, fixed on the back of Annabeth's blonde, swaying hair. Nico sighed. Oh man. They were a mess. How was this troop of disoriented and torn demigods supposed to defeat Gaea?

He honestly had no idea.

* * *

_Yeah...Nico doesn't have really high hopes. But when does he ever? xD Next one is Roman ^^_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Hoover Dam  
_

_**Next Question: WHAT BREED (of dog) IS CERBERUS?  
**_


	94. The Seal's final Placement

_January, 6th 2013_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: Lamia, MehhPerson** (Aww, no I'm not. But thanks XD)**, olympusgirl12, KirstyH96 **(Until now, I haven't got anything planned ^^. There is a potential though, due to the seal of the ocean not being the only one but I don't think I'll do it immedeately, since I first want to finish the other FF I have running. I'm such a masochist, I always make myself work more than I should x_x But I'm glad to hear you would be interested! :o)**, impatientkid, readingqueen811 **(aww, you're too sweet :3 Thank you again :))**, redandwhitetigers** (Yeah, almost xD. It's a German word I think so it's no wonder it's not easy to spell for English speaking people ^^)**, 1 fan **(thanks :3 Haha that made me realize how f'' many chapters I have...oh well xP)**, NeptuneRox, olegnAiDociN **(Aww, thanks. It's alright I understand :) I'll never complain about long reviews! XD Yay, I got someone to watch DW :3 I'm pleased :D What'd you think of the special? Also sorry for taking so long, I know you're waiting D:)**, Annabeth Jackson25 **(Of course there's more :3 Here you are! And omg, thank you so much, you're totally making me blush and flatter me ._. Thanks so much I'm glad you're enjoying it!)_  
_

**A/N: **_Two months? Yeah, we hit a new record there. Well, it's not completely to months but...almost x_x So I have a reason for this! Don't worry, I'm going to finish. All is good. We're almost there ^^. _

_But..do you know the show Merlin? From the BBC? Well, I got obsessed with it in October and then it ended on Christmas Eve and the final was SO depressing...so I had to write something about it. Until then December was stressful so I didn't have any time anyway. Today is the last day of my holiday so I wrote this :) Will not try to write more on the weekend, look forward to it! Not promising anything since January is always the most stressful month for university but I'll totally try! I'll try to finish this before this semester ends! x_x (March 30th). _

_Yay, Perca POV again :D_

_ Momo: No I don't think so. Percy is really powerful and Nico is too but Percy is also older and more experienced than Nico, at least when it comes to swordfighting. They both have their reigns but since Percy's is the water and Nico's the Underworld, at the Surface Percy would most certainly win in a one on one fight, I guess. Also, due to the certain love he gets from both his mother and father, and Nico's childhood having really damaged him, I think Percy may have a stronger and more stable personality (not even considering the things Annabeth is able to give him strength for). He does have other weaknesses of course but his stronger standing point makes him the better Leader in a comparison with Nico. Just to clarify: I love both of them :D They're different but both totally cool. ^^_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCIV**

**Percy**

The journey to the wolf house was different than he had expected. In all honestly, riding a wolf was a strange experience. He preferred horses but had to admit that sitting on the backs of these wild animals had a certain drive to it. It felt so…raw and wild rather than majestic. Lupa's fur was warm under his legs and hands as he gripped on for dear life so he wouldn't fall off. Her back was so broad though and he remembered last time he had been riding her so it wasn't half that bad. Yeah, last time…he had been such a clueless idiot back then. Not that he had become any smarter really. It was just that half of his memory was already back and he felt like someone again. If not because of his returned past then because of his shared adventures with the Romans and their slowly growing friendship, if you could call it that.

And he certainly could. Gwen and Dakota were friends for him and Zoe was like that little sister he never had, speaking Greek with him whenever she could and asking him curious questions about the Castra and the life of demigods every minute.

He had to laugh drily. Zoe was a little miracle anyway. She was mortal as far as any of them could determine and still, she had been able to step into the camp. Lupa had assured them that it was impossible, that not even a clear sighed mortal should be able to do so. That she should have been repelled as soon as she passed into the entrance, that some sort of barrier was supposed to hold her back. Yet she was here, with them in the Castra. She was staying in the main house for now but Lupa assured them that it was only temporary. Percy wanted to know what that meant but he had the feeling that Lupa herself had no idea.

Back to their present action, they finally made it to the wolf house. Around them, space had bent to Lupa's will again. It was as if they were traveling with 300 kilometers per hour and everything blurred and warped around them. Suddenly, they came to a halt and Percy almost fell over Lupa's head to land on the floor since he only had one hand to hold himself upright. The other hand was grasping the sphere in its grip since he was after all the only one who could carry it around. Luckily, Reyna held him on top since she had been sitting right behind him, holding onto his waist. It had felt strange in the beginning but there was really no way of avoiding it without her being in a totally awkward or impossible position on Lupa's back. The other two Wolves that had traveled with them also stopped on either side of Lupa and the two demigods on each of them jumped off. Gwen and Dakota had been on one and Bobby and Hazel on the other –both obviously not content with that choice. Bobby was still glaring at Percy. It wasn't as if he had chosen for Reyna to be seated on Lupa with him! Lupa had said the Praetor and Percy were to travel with her, for whatever reason gods knew.

Together, the first legion made their way to the ruins of the wolf house with some hesitation in their steps. Lupa had told them that just a few weeks ago, Gaea had attempted to take this sacred place and make it their own. Back then, Lupa and the other wolves had of course tried to protect it but were soon forced to flee to the Castra because of it. The wolf goddess had also stated that Hera herself had been imprisoned here, that was why the Gaea had been so strong and powerful and Lupa unable to claim what was rightfully hers. Percy assumed that had been around the time he had his dream of Hera being in great peril. If felt like just yesterday to him but then again like it was several months ago. SO much had happened. Lupa had regained her rights on the place and tried to defend it off of dark powers since then. It wasn't easy, she said and she lost many wolves in the process. But the wolf house was the heart of what made them Roman, the place young soldiers were tested and trained and Lupa told her that a similar place had existed in ancient times, were she and her wolves had lived and were she had raised Romulus and Remus once. Percy had to admit, that sounded like it was pretty important.

"If the wolf house fell to Gaea's hands completely, New Rome also would", Lupa had explained and it had made Percy gulp. They had been too close back when Hera had sent her dream. He feared that if it happened again, the Castra would fall. And as much as he hated some of the attitude the Romans had, he still had accepted them as his friends and he certainly didn't want them to fall to their enemy.

"So, we just go in and place the seal somewhere?", he asked, breaking the intense silence that had surrounded them ever since they had departed under Lupa's grave words. Every single one of them turned their heads to him but Lupa kept on walking, leading the way.

"No. We have a special place for the seal of the ocean here. It should do perfectly." She said, dismissing any discussion with her tone. Percy gulped and nodded, following her without a further comment. He juggled the seal around in his hands. It held so much power and was yet feeling like a toy in his hands, it was kind of unnerving. They stepped around a corner in the almost collapsing mansion and a pool came into view. Despite the house being almost run down completely, the pool on the backside still seemed intact and that appeared a little bit strange to Percy. Still, he kind of figured that this would be where the seal was placed. Because a familiar scent swept over them to his nostrils.

"This is salt water. How'd you get a salt water pool?", he asked curiously. Because if that was possible, he'd totally have to get one once he was able to settle down somewhere and afford a house. Maybe with Annabeth…no, he shouldn't be going there now.

"That doesn't matter. Would you please place the seal in the middle, every second counts.", Lupa countered and Percy felt shut down again. But she was right, of course. They needed to place this seal so the attacks on the camp would stop. So he held the thing tighter and set foot onto the water with his right shoe, balancing out if it would take his command as well as normal sea water did. It obeyed and he could soon take the next step, walking over the water as if it was the ground and he felt the eyes of the Romans and the three wolves on him but tried to ignore that fact. In the middle of the pool –as far as he could estimate- he stopped and kneeled down, placing the seal on the water's surface. It slowly began to glow brightly, then dimmed down and sank beneath the surface, were it was hovering in the very center of the pool. Soon, something began to lift itself from it. Like a blue, circular wall that surrounded it and got bigger and bigger. Percy winced when it reached him but the only thing it did was make him feel secure and a little warmer inside, like he was at home, almost as if he was at sea. A small smile lit up his face and he watched the shield grow. Somehow, he knew that it would grow until it surrounded the whole wolf house and the camp as well, creating a strong protection against any monster attacks. He stood up and walked over to the others again.

After that, they didn't stay much longer. Quickly returning to camp, they saw the barrier had risen over there as well and soon they got off the wolves' backs and started to walk back to their supposed posts like nothing happened. Percy had riding lessons with the Venus cabin again and if he was honest, he rather looked forward to it. So he went down to the stables with Dakota and was surprised to see Zoe there. She was talking to the twins from Venus and waved when she spotted Percy.

"Zoe! What're you doing here?", he asked and Zoe shrugged.

"I don't know…I just figured since I don't really know much about the modern mortal world and really don't want to live there if I'm honest…I thought if I can stay here I might as well learn to defend myself. You know, so others don't have to do it for me.", she stated matter of factly and smiled at him. Percy nodded. Somehow, he felt proud. This girl was a really tough fellow. She was only twelve and already thinking about learning to fight. She had stood up to older Roman soldiers and she had promising abilities of what seemed like prophecy. Whatever that was supposed to mean. But the son of Poseidon figured that they would find out in time. He was also astonished just how fast she had learned English. She seemed to adapt to the language in a matter of days, which was really something one could ask respect for.

"Alright, cool. Then let's start! You can take turn on the Pegasi. Zoe, you should start with a regular horse maybe, it's not that high to fall off." The princess nodded as she walked into the stables with them. They didn't have horses in her father's palace Greece – her father would touch them and they would just turn to gold and since they weren't exactly things, they had about 10 horse statues but her father never bothered to awake them again- so it would be her first time mounting one. She imagined that flying horses, Pegasi as the twins had called them, would be much more painful to fall off than a regular horse. So she followed Percy to the back, where he explained to one of the horses that Zoe was a beginner and the horses obviously understood, as one gave away a neigh and Percy nodded as an answer.

"Alright then, Maggy over here agrees to let you ride her." He said to Zoe, who stared at her quizzically. Finally, Percy turned a little red and said.

"I..I can understand the horses. My father kind of…invented them so I get to talk to them in my mind." He explained so Zoe just nodded, dismissing it as one of the strange things demigods seemed to be able to do. In time, she managed to mount her horse and walked over to the others, who had already gone outside under Dakota's lead, some of them already soaring under the blue sky. It looked wonderful, really. She wanted to try that but Zoe knew that she had to start slow.

"What is it, James. Having trouble with your Pegasus?", Percy asked with a small tease In his voice. The guy he asked, James obviously, looked at him angrily while he rubbed the back of his head.

"No it's just…I've got this strange headache…probably nothing.", he stated and walked away to take off into the air as well. Percy frowned but Zoe's eyes widened. For a short second, she had seen a mark in Jame's neck. She hadn't been able to make out its exact look but it had glowed in an angry red and then disappeared. What was this? It couldn't be normal…right? Nobody had told her of signs on the neck. Arm tattoos yes but this? Percy didn't seem to have noticed anything though, so he gave her instructions how to command her horse with her body and how to sit properly before mounting his own beautiful mare and flying away, leaving Zoe alone with her strange thoughts.

A mark on the back of his neck…she sure hoped this didn't mean anything bad. A feeling told her otherwise though. This feeling she had ever since she had woken up and gone with the Romans. A feeling in the back of her mind that had given her these premonitions as well, the visions.

What was _happening _to her?

* * *

_Yeah I know, it partly turns into Zoe POV at the end ^^". I just had to point that mark out though. Going to love this one ;P I'm just telling you: They haven't won yet. Gaea had considered this happening and you're not going to like what she thought of..._

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Rottweiler  
_

_**Next Question: WHAT'S THE NAME OF ANNABETH'S MOST KNOWN HALF-BROTHER? **(I mean Athena Half-Brother. Not mortal. I think he's even the only one whose name we know haha)_


	95. Visions of their End

_January, 6th 2013_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: Lamia, Daughter of King Orrin **(thanks! Oh I'll manage somehow...I hope xD), **redlox2, SmilingSim, readingqueen811 **(haha awww, thanks :3 Yeah, maybe I'll draw something soon, I am an artist too xD. I'll upload a link if I do! :3)**, KirstyH96 **(no, she's on demigod, I can tell you that :D She is special though...you'll see soon, promise :))**, MehhPerson **(yeah, he is quite cool xD. Loved the way he blushed when Percy and Annabeth hugged in BotL XD And aww, I'm glad you're inspired even though this style is probably not really good because English is only my second language ^^" *hug*)**, olympusgirl12 **(haha yeah, they are much, right? _ it was either many chapters or really long ones so...I chose this :D And there should be a little more than 100? So not that long to go anymore :))**, blazerules34 **(It does indeed ^^. I'm going to watch it since i saw they did many changes since the last time. For example will Thalia be in it and all the other canon characters so I really hope they're going to do this one closer to the books! :3 *fangirling*)**, olegnAiDociN** (I see you got yourself an account! Yay, now I can spam you with messages too *muhaha*)**, 1 fan **(I meant from her godly side. She does have two mortal half brothers, the ones his father had with his step mother ^^. I meant her Athena half-siblings from camp though xD. And yay, only 5 more now :D)_  
_

**A/N: **_Heyy again :) See, I managed to keep the pause shorter this time! :D_

_Also, Semester is almost to an end and I'll try to write and write and write as soon as the break starts! For that, I first have to manage to finals though. Haha...that't going to be sooo much fun...not. -_-"_

_Either way! The final part is starting to roll down now, the tension is rising (I hope) and to answer a question, I think i'm going to manage with a little more than a hundred chapters, so we really should be finished soon! Also, the next chapter is already half ready, so hopefully I can upload it next weekend :3. This is the first chapter where I switch between chosen views inside the chapter but I'll do that more often in the future so get used to it ;P_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCV**

**Percy + Zoe**

Absentmindedly, Percy Jackson scratched his arm where the new tattoo was. A trident with no lines and the letters SPQR underneath. He sighed. Now that his skin was vulnerable again, they had decided he also needed that damn tattoo. Time passed really quickly now. Percy had been told that it was Christmas when they had been on their mission. How had he just missed that? It was one of his favorite holidays as far as he remembered. The Romans didn't seem to make that big of a fuss about it but since most of their soldiers were still full blood Americans, they did have to make at least a small celebration for it. IF the soldiers didn't return for home for a few days. This year that hadn't been allowed though. The attacks had been too frequent. So when they had come back, there had been a Christmas tree in the big house and everything, Christmas decoration all over camp shattered somewhere, hidden in the tents even. But as soon as the three days after Christmas Eve were over –which was the day after Percy and the first Legion had returned- Lupa had told them to take everything off.

New Year's Eve had been unspectacular too. They had trained like always and Lupa insisted that their new year started in March so they weren't allowed to have a big festive. The first legion did make a small come together at Percy's tent though, since they were able to be alone in their. Zoe was there too and had a funny evening, telling a few stories form their past, Zoe being updated on the tradition of Christmas and New Year and Percy recalled some stories from his past he had started to remember even more. About the Camp and his friends there, with the Hermes twins that pulled pranks on everybody, even on Christmas and with the angry daughter of Ares, which made Reyna sulk a little. He also told them about his closer friends, the Satyr Grover, the Son of Hades, Nico di Angelo and the daughter of Zeus, Thalia Grace. At that, Reyna had gasped, her eyes wide. The other didn't seem really relaxed either, so he had asked what was up.

"Grace is also Jason's last name.", Reyna had explained. Percy raised an eyebrow. Right, Jason. She hadn't talked about him in long and they hadn't been able to find him on their mission, at least they didn't really see him. Reyna must still be worried. But he pushed that aside as Reyna said those words.

"Wait…so they're like…related? Is that even possible? I mean, I'm pretty sure Thalia is Greek."

"And I'm pretty sure Jason is Roman. Oh he was maybe the most Roman out of all of us.", Reyna confirmed, nodding. Percy was really startled. Of course, not all of his memory was back but he was pretty sure there hadn't been anything about Thalia telling him about a lost brother or something. They mused about the topic some more but quickly dismissed it, since it didn't get them anywhere.

So the new year came and Percy found himself getting used to the training methods –not so much to the getting up early to march though. The Monster attacks had stopped though Gwen was still really busy treating the soldiers, which had strangely high amounts of headaches the last couple of days. A week had passed ever since they had arrived. Percy began to seriously worry. Annabeth had told him in the dream that they were trying to reach San Francisco, so what was taking them so long? He silently prayed that it had nothing to do with Gaea. Or that they hadn't made a stop in Las Vegas and got caught in the Lotus Casino. But no, Annabeth would never be that stupid, she would probably completely avoid the whole city in the first place. It really wasn't a good place for demigods, even without the Casino to trap them there. So where were they? Something inside him really longed to see her again, hold her and he wasn't able to wait any longer. Before this all started, they were going to have a nice, quiet winter break together but now…his memories were still mushy but he did know most of it already. The more he did remember, the more he wanted to see his friends and of course especially his wise girl.

* * *

Zoe on the other hand had started to get used to her life in Roman camp, even if she didn't really belong in any tent of the gods. She just decided to stick with Percy, since he was alone as well and he was able to understand Greece, so they kind of handled it like a secret language or Percy helper her if she was lost for English words for things she just learned to get used to.

The hunch in the back of her head had begun to grow into a fear. Every time she saw somebody with a headache that was seeming to make them useless in a fight or if she saw somebody treated by Gwen because they couldn't handle it anymore, she had seen that mark on their necks. It was always disappearing really quickly. She had thought she was going crazy already. Of course she had tried to ask if the others could see it but they saw nothing, not even the flash she was able to see. When she tried to make out the symbol closer, it simply vanished and it was really, really out nerving her. There was something going on but since nobody really listened to her or could even see it, she couldn't really do something about it.

Then, one night, she had another of those dreams. The dreams that made her sit upright because it was really clear they weren't just some fuzzy dreams but hard cold reality, the ones she knew were either already in the past or possibly even the future. She had no idea how she knew that or how that was even possible but she mostly didn't talk about it, it were only unimportant things that made her understand some of the past of the Roman camp or it was about people she had never seen before, like a tall blonde guy and a brown haired girl and this curly haired, dark skinned, goofy kid that ran along with them. She really had no idea so she dismissed it again. This one was different though…

_She was looking down at a camp side. The people around it all seemed familiar to her. Not that she had ever met them. But it were all people from her dream. Annabeth was there. And Thalia, the daughter of Zeus. A boy in dark clothes was there to, that one she hadn't seen before. But the other three faces that had seemed unfamiliar were there too, the blonde guy, the brunette girl and the curly haired goofy guy. Also, a man with shaggy legs sat there, Zoe figured it much be Grover, the Satyr Percy had told them about. These were Percy's friends. So why was she watching them sitting around a campfire? _

_All of them seemed out nerved. None spoke. It was a really quiet and depressing atmosphere and Annabeth stared into the flames like she could force an answer out of them somehow. She massaged her shoulder where her long hair fell over her back and she was obviously really tense. Thalia crouched over closer to her a bit and wordlessly offered her friend to massage her shoulders a it. Annabeth smiled at her thankfully and quickly remover her hair from her back, stroking it over one of her shoulders. And there it was. The reason why she had this dream. On the back of Annabeth's neck was the symbol again. That blazing thing that stung her eyes so much. Her vision zoomed in and this one didn't just disappear. Time seemed to stand still while Zoe stared at it while the other people around her froze. There was a round symbol that was made up of small figures, none touching but all seemed to dance around each other. Upon looking closer, Zoe could make out the shapes of birds as well as men, mixing with each other but never touching, dancing endlessly and building a whole planet of people and birds. In really small letters around them stood a word, again and again. A Greek word. _

_**ἀναγκαῖος**_

The dictum, the voice of power that you can't ignore._ Zoe's head translated immediately, not even thinking about it. _

_Quickly, the scene just continued and Annabeth's hair fell into place over the sign again, making Thalia not notice it in the slightest. Then the scene simply disappeared but was replaced by another one. She saw flashes, flashes of people attacking each other. All of them were people she recognized. All of them were Roman. And they were fighting each other to the death. Horror rose in her heart. What was this? What was she seeing? Then another scene came. It was Annabeth, standing with Percy and fighting against the attacking Romans. All of them had a glowing mark on their neck, all of them that were attacking. Every single one. Annabeth's mark was still there, Zoe knew but somehow, she wasn't affected with the sudden rage and urge to attack. And they weren't attacking her, they were only out for Percy and the others without marks but not her. Annabeth glanced over to Percy when suddenly, Hazel attacked her. The daughter of Minerva had been close by but she hadn't got a mark. It was more like she realized something and now flung her sword at the daughter of Athena, theoretically her half-sister._

_In the last second, Percy was in the way. And as he was holding his wound, Annabeth caught him before he could fall, her gaze horrified at the sight of her boyfriend's blood. Percy said something to her that Zoe wasn't able to hear and realization lit up the blonde's eyes. Something she hadn't known before had reached her ears. Something that changed everything. She had registered that Percy remembered. That he remembered almost everything. The daughter of Athena hadn't known that before but it had kept her sign dormant. The knowledge and grief over practically losing her boyfriend or having lost him to the Roman side had kept her sign from activating. She was the key. Her sign was what had activated the others. And now her expression changed, the sign glowed even more on her neck, was now even visible through her bright hair. So when her grey eyes widened now, she got out her own knife, a madness spreading over her face while she raised it over the slowly fainting Percy, bringing it down to his neck with a flash of bronze metal. A scream sounded and Zoe's vision went blank._

Gasping and screaming, Zoe awoke. She was in panic. This couldn't be real. This…t-this couldn't be happening! If this was the future, she had to prevent it! T-there had to be a way! Annabeth was the key to whatever Gaea was up to. She was trying to turn the Romans against each other and she had made Annabeth the cause of it without the Greek demigod knowing anything about it. When the Greeks arrived here, hell would break lose. And as far as she knew the Romans now, they wouldn't hesitate to just kill the source of Gaea's power without hesitation. If they found out, they would kill Annabeth. And Percy would never, _never_ tolerate that. And if Percy was to be against them, if he was to turn to the enemy's side from the Roman's perspective, then there was no way they could avoid a war. The Romans had grown to like the son of Poseidon and even respect him. Reyna had already told the others that due to what he had done on their quest, she wanted to nominate him for Praetor in the following morning. They needed somebody who had good leader qualities and Zoe had heard from Hazel that Reyna wasn't completely comfortable with the responsibility. Percy hadn't been either but finally, he had said yes. Though Lupa said if the council said so, he hadn't much of a choice really. Percy had huffed, but he had rolled his eyes and thrown in a 'whatever', which had earned him a half-evil glare from the wolf goddess.

So, still breathing heavily, Zoe got out of her bed. She had found a solution in her head, the way she may be able to prevent Percy from dying and the Camp from falling into war. If this vision was true, if this happened when Annabeth found out that Percy remembered, this were the consequences… then she couldn't let that happen. She dressed herself in her favorite white tunic, knowing it was still the middle of the night, and got out of the big house. The Greeks were here soon, she could feel it. They were practically on their doorstep. She had to hurry. So she made her way for the third tent, with the blue and green ornaments made from the sea (somehow avoiding the patrols around camp) and hammered on the entrance with her fist.

Oh, Percy was_ not_ going to like her idea.

No, not at all.

* * *

_Yep. Not at all :D. You'll see, that plan is going to destroy some spirits the next chapters ^^" I'm going to say sorry in advance, because you're going to want to kill me xD. _

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Malcolm  
_

_**Next Question: WHOSE SON WAS ETHAN NAKAMURA? **(are my questions getting too easy? I'm too lazy to get up and take a book XD)_


	96. To where your Heart lies

_February, 6th 2013_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: readingqueen811 **(I'll do some soon :3 Maybe wanted to do the ring thing in this chapter ^^)**, olympusgirl12** (yes! It's going to be super dramatic xD. But oh well xP I do like those, don't I? XD)**, S122355, KirstyH96, Guest, dann965 **(well I can't do that, this is fanfiction after all haha. But I did think about maybe writing a novel some day...I know that takes time and effort but in my free time during my job I am hopefully still able to keep writing as a hobby. So maybe, one day xD I'm not that good though, I doubt anybody would have me published xP Thank you though! *hug*)**, MehhPerson **(haha yeah, they are. I love doing the evil plans don't I? :D And yeah, Nemesis was awesome in MoA! :D)**, 1 fan **(Mh...we'll see. But usually I'm not the type to kill off people with no reason ^^ usually...*evil laugh*. And to the sequel question: I really don't know yet...probably first going to finish the Merlin fanfictions I have in mind though. I can think about PJ further when I finished those. It's so confusing to have 3 stories running at the same time x_x)**, nadine **(aww, thanks :3)**, blazerules34 **(I don't know yet...when I finish this I'll probably first move on to my Merlin Fanfictions as they keep popping into my head. Then I can return to PJ later. So mh, maybe :))_  
_

**A/N: **_Hey there my loyal readers :)_

_I did it again xP A month? Seriously? Oh well. I do have an apology though, university was really stressful in the last weeks and I didn't get to write nor draw at all. It was depressing. But now I'm free! Holidays, finally x_x. I'm going to sit around in my room all day and be on tumblr or play videogames or something so I might as well write :D. _

_I noticed the plot gets really tangled up until now...I had to read back a few times to get everything right haha. I (!) have to read back and I wrote this shit. How must it be for you? xP I'm sorry this got so long but I really enjoy writing this and I think, looking back, I even got a little better at writing (seeing as I had betas first and now I haven't and it's the same level...I guess)._

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCVI**

**Annabeth**

„You are kidding me, right? Again?!", Leo kicked against a stone in frustration.

"It's been a week, gods-damn-it! There has to be some kind of clue, it's not like we're blind, why can't we find it?!" he dropped down on the ground and rubbed his toe in frustration, the stone had been too heavy to kick away. The soft grass didn't really give him comfort but neither did standing around. It was already dark outside in San Francisco but nobody complained about the seven teenagers hanging around in the park. That was probably too normal to even frown about. Jason beside him sighed.

"Yeah, it has…I'm sorry guys but…I really can't remember anything. I'm trying!" he frowned and held his forehead. Piper beside him put a hand on his shoulder with a reassuring squeeze.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. Nobody is blaming you.", she told him and even Annabeth smiled and dropped to the ground next to Nico, who had long sat down and stared at the shadows.

"Piper's right. Let's just make camp for the night, agreed? We can look again tomorrow." She saw Thalia dropping next to her while Grover asked the Nymphs around for permission to make a fire from some dead wood they found on the ground. Leo lit it up with a flick of his wrist and Annabeth found herself staring into the flames hypnotically. Lumi was hovering over their heads, giving away some extra light and bathing their faces in a spooky way while flying by.

"It's strange, isn't it?" the daughter of Athena broke the silence that had settled over the small group.

"What is?" Piper asked while she had positioned herself next to Jason, lying down her head in his lap. Annabeth lifted an eyebrow as if it was obvious.

"We can't find the Roman camp for a whole week and still, no monster has tried to stop us.", she stated and Leo laughed bitterly.

"What, no monster? What about that Cyclopse in the lower town, I'm pretty sure that wasn't a particularly friendly fellow! And that guy at the bay, yeah, he was really nice, almost drowning me. Fun.", he stated sarcastically. Annabeth glared at him with her grey eyes shining like storm clouds in the firelight.

"We disturbed him in his home, I'm pretty sure that doesn't count as an attack on his side, far more on ours. And Nereus…yeah, I told you that we're probably not going to be able to catch him. You should have let Thalia handle this, not jump in and trying to be the hero. The only one to not have drowned would have been Percy…" Thalia had shot Leo a dirty look at this. Yeah, meeting Nereus had been quite the let-down. Thalia had suggested it, since it had worked last time and the guy was bound to answer any question when captured. She had planned on pinning him down on land with her bow or knives, threatening him to cut his throat but when they had reached the guy, he had been near the water and before Thalia could even perform her plan, Leo had jumped in and startled the guy, trying to press him to the ground and threaten to put him on fire, which resulted in both of them landing in the ocean and Leo almost drowning until he finally had to let Nereus go and they had to fish Leo back out. Nereus hadn't returned to the surface since and Annabeth doubted he would for a while. Now that she had mentioned Percy, the camp's mood had dropped even more. Her shoulders sank and she sighed. It was hopeless…nothing worked. They had searched the entire city, following Annabeth's reasoning to where it was logical for an entrance to be hidden and Jason's hunches when they were somewhere and the son of Jupiter said it didn't seem familiar to him. He tried but he was never able to point them in any direction. Annabeth would like to blame somebody but she knew it wasn't fair to put the blame on Jason's shoulders. The Castra –as he called it- probably had protection charms keeping him from properly remembering or the location varied, like the entrances to the labyrinth. Basically everything was possible and Annabeth regretted that she didn't have more information to go on. Her thoughts were interrupted by Lumi, who nagged on her backpack once again. It had done that several times in the past days, always wanting to go into it and stay in there a few hours. Since it wasn't really made of any material, it could easily pass through the fabric so Annabeth hadn't really understood why it would want her to open the backpack in the first place. Of course she hadn't wasted a thought on this as the only important thing on her mind was Percy right now. Still, right now she wondered…maybe the little ghost light wanted to tell her something. Hey, she was desperate. So she stared at the little light when Thalia offered her to massage her shoulders. Astoundingly enough, she was really good at that by now. Her messages were really rough and sometimes hurtful but while being with the hunters she had obviously learned w here she needed to press to relax the muscles. So Annabeth gladly accepted her offer and lifted her hair from her back, flipping it over her shoulder. Her gaze still rested on Lumi and she now noticed how he was pointing to her front pocket. Annabeth was the only one in the group who still had her original backpack from camp left. The others had switched backs or needed to abandon them along the journey. So what was Lumi up to when it hovered over her front pocket? There were only a few items in there, most of them insignificant. Like her picture of Percy she carried with her or that ring that Lou Ellen gave her that she had put in her jeans and later found in the front pocket of her backpack after they had run into Circe. Obviously, the witch hadn't found that vulnerable enough to steal from her. So what spell may that thing contain that would be helpful to them but useless to Circe? When Thalia finally brushed her back to signify that she was finished, Annabeth thanked her quietly and then moved forward to open the rucksack's pocket. Lumi flew up and down excitedly and hovered around the backpack in circles. Annabeth frowned while the others just began to notice that she was up to something.

"What are you doing?", asked Nico beside her who was still a little vary of that little light following Annabeth around like a very obsessed dog.

"I don't know…Lumi is so excited for this pocket for several days now, I'm just wondering…" she grabbed the ring and as Lumi seemed to get even more excited, she brushed it over her ring finger carefully. For a short moment, nothing happened. Then, a light suddenly blinded her eyes and when she opened them again, a small image out of light lines was painted over the ring. It showed camp half-blood and there was a ray of light that pointed to the east coming from the ring. All of the present teenagers stared at the image in wonder and then looked up to Annabeth.

"What in Hades is this ring?" Leo asked, looking at the thing in wonder. Annabeth's grey eyes didn't lift from the image and she moved her hand around to notice that the arrow always pointed in the same direction. She assumed that she could follow that until she actually reached camp.

"It shows us home…", Piper breathed and Annabeth lifted her gaze to her, stunned. Of course! That's what it was! The ring that showed you the place your heart belonged. The word of the old woman in her dream replayed in her mind.

"_Don't worry, you will. But understand that there is always a guiding light that leads the wielder home to where his heart lies…"_

Gods of Olympus, that's what she meant! This ring was what the woman had been talking about and for a brief second, she realized it had been Hestia in another shape so nobody would know it was her. The red gleam in her eyes, the foretelling of the lake monster and now the ring. The only remaining thing were the "five stars" she had been talking about. What was that supposed to mean? But she dismissed the thought as there were more pressing matters at hand. The daughter of Athena wondered if this ring could really show her everything she put her heart to, she felt home with, belonged to. Because then there was another thing besides camp that belonged in her heart. Something she was missing deeply for far too long now, leaving a hole were it was once. No, where _he_ once was. And hopefully would be again.

Her eyes closed and she breathed in deeply. Her whole mind was focusing on Percy now, all her memories of him, the happy times she had tried to burry in the back of her head for so long now and the anxious times when he was hurt or the time he was worried over her because she had taken a dagger for him that day in the battle of Manhattan. Or their kiss in the lake. Their dates together, that time Hermes interrupted them during one. Her heart warmed and she opened her eyes again.

"Show me Percy." She asked, her voice very soft, very quiet and she just knew that the ring actually understood. Because that was where her heart belonged. With her Seaweed Brain. Yes, Camp Half-Blood was home and that was probably why it had showed that first. But her heart had belonged with that specific son of Poseidon for some time now and that was why the image flickered and seemed to change. She smiled while the others who hadn't heard her speak frowned.

"What is it doing?" Jason asked who sat too far away to have heard her whisper to the ring.

"I asked it to show me Percy. This thing shows you were your heart belongs.", she smiled and then waited for the image to finish changing. The daughter of Athena didn't feel like explaining that further and it appeared she didn't need to. Jason just nodded, understanding and glancing over at Piper, who had a hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes. Probably a daughter of Aphrodite thing. She did always seem fascinated by the way she talked or the things she said about Percy. For a brief moment Annabeth wondered if her mother had told her about her obsession over her and Percy she obviously possessed and if Piper was now picking up on that. But her thoughts were again interrupted, this time by the image finishing to form. It showed Percy, his hair looked like he rolled out of bed as always but it had gotten a bit longer than last time she remembered. Also, the arrow's direction had changed and the small but straight ray of light now pointed right ahead of her across the campfire and further down the path of the park into the darkness of the deep night in San Francisco.

"Wow. It actually worked! So this means Percy is at the other end of that arrow somewhere?" Nico asked and sounded more excited that Annabeth had seen him since his sister Bianca died. Annabeth nodded and immediately, their camp was broken up. Of course, it was the middle of the night but now that the finally had a hint after a week of searching, none of them wanted it to go away again without actually following it. They packed their bags (which they had refilled with some clothes and food while they had been in San Francisco, mainly with the remaining mortal money from Annabeth) and put out the fire, not bothering to cover the traces since they'd hopefully soon be at the Castra Roma anyway. They almost ran the way the arrow pointed but tried to not look suspicious. Annabeth really prayed that this light wasn't visible to mortals but she really doubted it would be.

So, half running half walking, they followed where the ring pointed like some kind of navigation system. The hologram remained over the ring, which made Annabeth almost stumble into something several times because she kept looking at it. Finally, after walking through half of San Francisco and it was deep into the night already, probably 3 in the morning or something, they reached a tunnel. Okay, this was what she hadn't expected at all. A tunnel? There were still cars running through it even at this hour and they had to enter through a narrow way for technicians (probably) that lead very close to where the cars were driving and into the tunnel.

"Are you sure this thing works?" Leo asked with doubt in his voice. Annabeth couldn't blame him but she dodged away when she looked at the ring like he wanted to wrack it with his hammer.

"I'm sure it's right. Jason?" she asked and for the first time in days, Jason seemed sure of a hint.

"Yes. This is it. I…I think this is the right way." He said, delight in his voice upon finally getting a grip of where they needed to go, where the Castra was. His old home. Annabeth could understand that emotion just too well. Percy was beyond this path! Immediately, her composure straightened and she walked forward with even more purpose, ignoring the dark since the ring gave away enough light for them to walk. Finally, they reached the middle of the tunnel, marked by some electric lights and a breaker box. Next to the fuse panel there was an eagle set in stone, roughly as if a child had made it or some teenager had hacked into it for fun. Jason stared at it and Annabeth frowned.

"Is this it?" she asked, studying Jason's expression.

"Yes. The door that can only be found by those who know that it's there.", the son of Jupiter mumbled as if in trance. Annabeth could practically see some memories flushing back into the demigod. Nico behind him lifted an eyebrow.

"Okay. We know that it's here. So how do we open it? Doesn't exactly have a handle.", he commented and gestured for the stone wall. Jason fell out of his daydream and smiled knowingly.

"It only needs the touch of a demigod.", he said and with that pressed his flat hand against the middle of the eagle, resulting in a subtle blue glow spreading around the carving and a gash that formed a door opening with a loud crack that was toned out by the noises of the cars rushing by. As the stone finally slid into the ground, the seven of them stepped through, hearing the noise behind them dimming as the door slammed shut again with a final thud.

"Alright…no turning back now.", Leo laughed and Annabeth had to silently agree with him. They walked along the dark tunnel with the ring guiding them and giving light. As she had activated the ring, Lumi had disappeared. Annabeth wondered if it would come back. After so many days, she had got quite fond of the little light. Maybe that had been its purpose and that was served now? Her gaze fell upon the hologram in front of her. It was barely bigger than her own hand but she still found her gaze wandering to it more than often. Percy…she knew that he didn't remember and it killed her inside. Still, she wanted to see him. Maybe make him remember again and if not, at least be with him, talk to him, touch him. Oh how she yearned for his fingers against her chin or neck, how they traced through her hair or stroked her back when they hugged. How she cupped her face during kissing and the way his lips touched hers. It had been too long and now she felt like they were rushing too much. It was the middle of the night! They should have waited until morning but the chances of an attack if Gaea found out they actually knew the way were just too high and she didn't want to risk losing the ring or anything similarly dumb and stupid. So when they reached the door at the end of the tunnel, she took a deep breath.

"Alright. We get in and try to find where Percy sleeps. Do you guys have cabins or something?" she asked over her shoulder and Jason nodded. Why hadn't she clarified this before? She scolded herself for being this unprepared! This wasn't like her at all.

"Yeah, well no. We have tents. But it works the same way. Guess Percy would be in the Neptune tent.", he suggested and Annabeth shrugged. Sounded plausible.

"Alright. We try to get to the Neptune tent without being noticed. Knowing of Rome, there are probably patrols and guards. Once there, we'll try and talk to Percy. Even if he doesn't remember us he's not the person to sound the alarm right away. We should be able to make him listen enough to make him trust us so we can introduce ourselves in the morning." The others nodded, trusting her plan and seeing it fit. It would involve some painful topics she would like to avoid but there wasn't really another way to do it. She didn't want to just gain his trust, she wanted him to _remember_. Her hand touched the door and it opened quietly –to her utter relief. They all stepped through and crouched further to the ground to not be spotted immediately. Wearing orange shirts suddenly seemed like a bad idea. Good thing they all had dark jackets they could zip shut to not glow in the dark. Annabeth had stripped herself of the ring. Even if it might point to Percy's tent it would just blow their cover completely. They'd have to find him themselves. Suddenly, Jason behind her seemed to think of something.

"But if we go to Percy…don't you think it would put a bad light on him if we appear out of his tent in the morning? Like he was harboring us? Won't we put him in danger?" he asked and Annabeth's grey eyes widened as her step became a little slower so she could talk to Jason. All eyes were fixed on her now as the thought dawned on her that the Romans may not be as willing to listen to their story as Chiron would be. That they didn't second guess intruders like the merciful centaur did. She opened her mouth to answer that there was hardly another way when she suddenly felt the others stiffen and saw hands flying to their weapons. She wanted to grab hers too out of reflex when she suddenly felt metal against her throat. A blade. Oh Styx.

"Put whom in danger?" a female voice asked as Annabeth carefully let her hand sink and turn around to face the person on the other end of the golden sword. Her voice was sweet but the sweetness was clearly false, edging on a hidden 'danger' warning right beneath the surface. She had middle-brown hair tied up in a neat ponytail and bright brown eyes that glared daggers at the daughter of Athena. She held a second sword in her other hand but it hung loosely at her side as if she didn't bother put up more defenses for them. Well, she did sneak up on them after all. And she wasn't the only one. Torchlights appeared around them, lighting them directly in the face, ignoring the blending effect. More swords were pointed at the throats of her friends and she began to pick words to eventually get them out of here.

But then, something screwed all her plans she could ever make. A figure stood a little next to Reyna. How hadn't she noticed before? He wore a purple shirt and a stern look on his face. His hand held Anaclusmos firmly and it was raised directly at Jason's throat without hesitation in his gaze. His green eyes bored into Jason's blue ones who didn't hesitate to stare right back. Oh, wonderful. So this is how these two meet? Her day was getting better and better. But she couldn't concentrate on the thoughts at all because her mind was obscured but the sheer sight of him. Missing him all this time, worrying over and over again, she couldn't help herself, couldn't stop her lips from saying it-

"_Percy!"_ she breathed but it was so quiet between the two parties that basically everybody heard. And all heads shot in her direction.

* * *

_Dudun. *sigh* I missed saying that XD. Yeah, shit is going down now :D_

_I don't quite get the use of "whom"... when do I use it? Was this right? Grammar education here please x_X_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ Nemesis, Goddess of Justice, Retribution, Vengeance and Balance  
_

**Next Question:_ IN WHAT CITY DID PERCY, HAZEL AND FRANK BEET PHINEAS AND ELLA?_**


	97. A lesson in Acting

_February, 9th 2013_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: readingqueen811 **(I did it! Art is in the comment below :3 And thanks! *hug*)**, KirstyH96 **(lol happens to all of us xD Glad you found the right one :) There are so many it's no wonder one could get confused ^^")**, FortissimoTrumpeter **(You technically didn't answer my question but I'm so glad you clarified the "whom" thing for me so thank you! And aww, that's so nice of you, thank you very much! *hug*)**, MehhPerson **(yeah I love it too XD. And I know you all don't like them (and I can understand, after all I read FF myself XD) so I hurried with the upload this time :3)**, olympusgirl12 **(haha I thought so xD Here you go :3)**, olegnAiDociN **(No don't implode, I need you D: Here's the chapter, I was extra fast this time :D)_  
_

**A/N: **_Hey there my loyal readers :)_

_Haha! Holidays do wonders to my writing-muse :D. I was super fast this time and wrote 8 pages in word just today. I'm astonishing myself sometimes...I didn't read all of it again so there are probably loads of mistakes *cough*. Please ignore them ^^". I just wanted to upload fast after that cliffhanger xD. But I really needed to do that since from Percy's perspective, this is maybe even more painful *muhahaha*. Sorry. Read on. _

_Also, I'm crediting all reviewers from now on, regardless of the quizz-thing. So you can still answer it but you get credited for every review now simply because I find all of you amazing that are sticking with me even though I have this thing running for over 2 years now and you're still here. Just thinking about it and how nice you are to me warms my heart ;_;. I love you all I wish I could hug you D: *sniff*. So yeah, **THANK YOU!** T_T_

_ALSO I DID A FANART! Of the Ring Scene from last Chapter. Just go to DA (Deviantart if you didn't already know. Just google it) put "kat-anni" before it (that's my name) and then insert this behind it: /art/Show-me-Percy-353289519_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCVII**

**Percy**

Why again was he awake at 3 o'clock when he had to be up and running again at 5:30? Oh yeah, because a certain mortal had banged at his door for certainly 10 minutes before he finally let her in to get rid of the noise.

"You want me to what?" he exclaimed after Zoe explained her dream, her explanation including her plan. She told him Annabeth was the main seal but she didn't want to spill the beans about what would happen provided that the daughter of Athena found out about him remembering. To be honest, it really didn't sound good. But this plan…

"You can't expect me to do that, Zoe! I was looking forward to this, they're searching for me for goodness' sake and Annabeth almost had a mental breakdown when she thought I didn't remember. And you expect me to lie to her? To all of them? I- I can't do that! I just…can't." he must have sounded really desperate, because Zoe's gaze softened a little. She sighed.

"I know it must be difficult…" Percy immediately interrupted her.

"No, It's not difficult, it's impossible! I'm a terrible liar, this is not going to go as you think it might. I'll blurt something out and I'll have to watch them think I don't know how they are…it's going to kill me! Please, Zoe, there has to be another way! What did you see would happen? Can't I just…I don't know, tell her what would happen and we could change it together?" suddenly, Zoe looked pained. She stared at him and shook her head. Was it just his imagination or did she seem short before crying? She was so much shorter than him that he had to lean down to her but he didn't want to see her upset so finally, he sighed. He dropped in a chair and stroked over the medal that lay on the table beside him. It was the praetor medal he would be wearing officially from now on. The past day had been announcement to the council only but all of the Castra already knew basically. Tomorrow was only the official announcement to his leadership. Why in Hades was this happening anyway? They had hated him and now they wanted him to lead? There was something fishy about that but Lupa said she trusted him, even if she was going to be working on his manners drastically as she put it. Plus, she said it was a way to prove to those who were still doubting him that he was capable of being just as much a roman soldier and respected demigod as any of the others in the first legion. He looked up to Zoe now, an understanding gaze in his green eyes.

"Fine. You can't tell me. I get it. The gift of prophecy is a difficult thing. I have a friend that has similar gifts to yours. Ever since she found out she began to be cryptic about practically everything." He smiled fondly at the thought of Rachel. Zoe raised an eyebrow.

"You already told me you knew somebody…but who? What is this? Why am I seeing these things? This can't be normal...and why can I even be here? I'm mortal, this should be impossible, right?" she seemed to have forgotten about the urgency of her dream for how. Percy was glad they didn't talk about it further and smiled.

"She's a mortal too. Her name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I befriended her back when I was fourteen. She could see through the mist, like you. Last summer, she came to camp and decided to host the oracle of Delphi after its curse had been lifted. And since she's the host now, she gives away prophecies and has dreams about the past and future and stuff like that. To be honest I assumed something similar is happening to you." He paused, frowning slightly. "I haven't told the others yet because I know that they believe their Oracle is this statue in this strange black temple they have. They say the Oracle of Delphi doesn't exist anymore..then again I can't put my finger on why you'd be a second Oracle…I'm not really an expert but I thought there was only one. So you see, I'm just as confused as you are." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and Zoe smiled at him.

"But it's more than I could have worked out. So thanks. But back to topic." The daughter of Midas concluded. She sat forward in her own chair and put her hand about Percy's. it wasn't a romantic gesture, just reassuring as her eyes bored into his, making clear that this was important. The son of Poseidon seriously needed to know what she had seen. It must have been terrible to convince her like this.

"You have to try, Percy. At least try. You would be saving many lives, believe me. Please. Trust me on this?" she asked, her big eyes pleading him. He had to look away and force himself not to curse. He pulled his hand away and buried his head inside of them. Curse these girls with their pleading big eyes. Especially Zoe here. She was almost as bad as Dakota if she wanted something from him. He was tired and wanted to climb back into bed. He glanced over at the watch beside his hammock. Oh well, now it was too late for that anyway. Finally, the teenager gave in.

"Fine. I will try. But you have to go now. I have guard duty in three minutes. Guess I'm already late." He shivered and lifted himself from his sitting position, arching his back. "Reyna's so going to kill me…" he muttered as he walked over to another chair where his armor lay crumbled together in a mess as he began putting them above his clothing that he had luckily already worn when Zoe first came in. No, still worn, to be honest. The day had been exhausting. He had fallen asleep while dozing off on his bed, staring at his necklace. As Zoe got up, he put the thing on and he waved at her when she left, the girl was waving back before smiling and closing the door behind her. Immediately, he heard another noise from outside and voices, then banging at his door.

"You're late, Fish face." He heard Reyna's impatient voice through the door. "I really don't want to know what Zoe was doing in your tent but hurry up, the others are already waiting for the next shift to take over." The daughter of Mars sounded angry but not as much as Percy had feared. Was there a hint of amusement? He had the feeling that the Romans were getting used to him being the only one not punctual and finding it as a source for a laugh rather than anger by now. Which was better because he could handle the first far better than the latter.

"Come in. I'm almost finished!" he yelled back and could practically sense Reyna rolling her eyes before opening the door. It was the middle of the night! Why was there so much activity in his tent? He needed his goddamn sleep here! But he swallowed his complaint down as he strapped on his shoulder plate. Reyna had made herself comfortable in one of the other hammocks he didn't sleep in, watching him while swinging back and forth. Night shifts weren't uncommon. He had had plenty in the last days. Since the seal had been placed and the immediate threat was over for now, Percy had been forced to work the regular schedule of a full-fledged first legion soldier. Which included leading sword lessons, swimming lessons, patrols and occasionally when Reyna felt like it, the march. Swimming lessons was especially enjoyable for him. Of course they couldn't use the lake in the forest since it was still deepest winter and rather cold outside but there was apparently a pool downstairs in the main house, on the other side where the dungeons weren't. It was rather big too and Percy had enjoyed teaching some of the kids how to swim or dive or operate certain attacks while in water. The water was one element he was good in and as Lupa had once said, the Romans always divided their tasks to the persons who were experts on it. They were all about experts and Lupa wanted him to improve his powers with the water as well as widen the spectrum of their army as she knew that some of her soldiers weren't very fond of water. Hazel had been an issue. They had a big fight about if she would ever go into the water. She had stood there in her bathing suit and hadn't let Percy help her at all. Finally, after the lesson had almost been over, Percy had stood beside her and told her that nothing could happen as long as he was there. He wasn't going to let her drown and she must have known that. She did. Of course she did. But she also told him the real reason. That as a child, her father had drowned when a flood had hit their home near a river and that since then, she was afraid of drowning for the rest of her life. That it was just unthinkable. Of course that explained her behavior and struggle to accept him or her anger when he got her soaked that one time. Still, he wasn't going to rest his case. So he had smiled and took her hand.

"_Come. I'll make you trust the water again. It's just a liquid like any other.", he said calmly. Hazel looked at him with a cool gaze but he grinned. He took a step forward and half dragged her with him. They were now at the very edge of the pool. Hazel struggled to walk further but Percy, still in his swim shorts while the others had already left, suddenly grinned. He had an idea. He took a step forward and instead of falling in, he kept standing on the surface of the water, half turning to Hazel with a winning grin. She managed to roll her eyes at him and hesitantly stepped beside him. Percy had been careful to harden the whole surface of the pool so when the daughter of Minerva now stepped on it, it actually held. It took much power but Percy was getting better control of the water with his daily practice and the seal had helped a great deal to make him stronger. He knew it would fade as soon as he left the Castra but for now he took the advantage to train his sorry ass off. If they were fighting Gaea of all goddesses, they all needed to be prepared after all. And he was eager to try that very same trick on Annabeth one day. Maybe tease her to follow him and then drop down into the water for privacy as they had done so many times in Camp Half-Blood. For Hazel's first time on the water she was reacting rather calmly. He didn't push her further that time. It was a big improvement for her to come onto the water anyway. To trust him, even. It had surprised himself as well that she had actually taken his hand and pulled this through with him. _

Not just Hazel, even Bobby was getting along better with him since they came back. They still weren't best buddies but the guy didn't try to kill him with his stares any more since he found out that Percy already had a girlfriend. That reminded Percy…

"Reyna, can I ask you and the others a favor?" if Zoe insisted he might as well go through with the plan. He had told the others much of his past already, they couldn't spill anything either. The daughter of Mars looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"Depends…" she said warily, studying him. Alright, they weren't best buddy buddies either but they got along pretty well. Reyna was mistrustful to anyone, it wasn't really bugging Percy much.

"The Greeks will arrive soon. You remember me telling you they were looking for me?" immediately, he had Reyna's attention. She stood almost too fast from her seat, close to flipping over and landing on the floor. The soldier corrected her mistake gracefully and walked over, halting before him.

"WHAT?! When? How do you know that? A dream?", she bombarded him with questions. He had expected that so he just smiled and shook his head.

"Zoe told me. That's why she was here. She had a dream about it. And she also warned me. We can't treat them as our friends.", he said, his voice heavy. Now the brunette looked confused. As Percy was ready with his armor, they stepped outside the tent, her confusion staying on her face though. After a few steps she asked her question.

"Why? I thought that was the whole point? I mean we trust you and they are your friends…I thought the whole point of Hera's plan was to get us together?" they had figured out that Jason was with the Greeks a long time ago. After all, Annabeth had told him so and it was logical. They needed all demigods they could get. The Romans had no idea what happened between the Greeks and the Romans in the past and Lupa won't tell them but they had agreed on giving them a chance. Percy sighed heavily. This wasn't easy at all. Telling Reyna was bad enough, what would he do once he saw Annabeth? This was going to be like walking through the fields of punishment.

"Zoe said that if they found out we knew about their friendly attitude and that I remember there would be a war. She didn't spill details, she just made it clear it was really important they couldn't know what we know of them. Especially things that concern me. So the favor I ask of you is that you pretend not to know anything I told you about me or my past despite the things I knew on my first day. Think you can do that?" he asked. Reyna looked at the grass before him before gazing back to him thoughtfully but she nodded.

"Of course. Shouldn't be a problem. I don't see how they get in here yet but once they do, I'll pretend I don't know about you. Are you going to be alright though?" she asked, her brown eyes studying him intently. He pressed his lips together and Reyna nodded, obviously already understanding from that expression.

"I'll try.", he said drily and they finally made it to their post on the hill. It was close to the entrance from the Caldecott Tunnel. Not so that they would be seen immediately from the entrance and could sneak up on whoever may try to enter. A wolf was beside them to telepathically alarm the other wolves (and therefore patrols) when something happened. The two of them didn't talk much since it wasn't really part of the patrol to talk but to listen to the voices of the night so Percy was lost in thought again.

It didn't last long though. They stood for maybe half an hour when they heard voices. First, Percy thought a patrol was passing by but then he noticed nobody was there…and the voices were coming from inside the entrance. Reyna looked at him with a stunned expression.

"Is it them?" she asked, whispering. Percy listened. He couldn't make out the voices but slowly nodded.

"I guess so.", he said and Reyna shook her head in disbelieve.

"When you said they were coming soon I didn't assume you mean_ right now_!" she complained but hushed the wolf to rush and get more soldiers. They made their way downhill and hid behind something so they could sneak up on the Greeks when they passed by. Percy got out his sword and listened to the hushed conversations and steps while looking over to Reyna with a frown of his own.

"Well I didn't know that either!", he said but Reyna quickly shushed him since they were coming closer now. Percy risked a peak around the corner and immediately spotted Annabeth. He felt like his heart stopped in his chest. Finally…after dreaming and remembering for so long, longing to see her, she was here. A few feet away and yet so far gone. She couldn't know he remembered, he reminded himself. Already he regretted to have promised Zoe to at least try. What if he just didn't try? What would happen? Could he risk it? Because from her expression and her eyes he could see that she missed him just as much if not more. And he wanted to take that sorrow away so much, so so much but couldn't. Oh yeah, this was going to be torture. Reyna shot him a sympathetic glance but her expression soon went to stone. Percy did the same, relaxing his muscles that had shown his worry and longing and forced a cold expression to enter his face. He wasn't an expert in that like Reyna here was but he tried. For Annabeth's sake, he told himself. Oh the irony. They sneaked closer, knowing their way around the Castra in the darkness perfectly while the others of course didn't. They were now close enough to hear a blonde guy talking. Reyna's expression slipped for a second. Was this Jason? He shot her a silent question and she nodded. Obviously.

"…harboring us? Won't we put him in danger?", he finished, looking at Annabeth. Seriously, they weren't really good at sneaking. He could see the other soldiers closing up from the distance and Reyna chose this moment to interfere. She stepped in from behind a stone and Percy was right behind her. She put her sword at Annabeth's neck and put on a fake-sweet voice. She was really good at those and it was pretty threatening. He wanted to push that sword away from Annabeth's neck but knew that this was necessary. In a way, he was glad she took Annabeth so he didn't have to. He returned her favor by putting Anaclusmos at Jason's neck in the next second.

"Put whom in danger?" Reyna asked beside him and Percy forced himself to stare Jason down. _Don't look at her, don't look at her, don't look at her…_ he chanted in his head all over again. Finally, he felt her gaze on him and wanted so desperately to look back into the grey pools that were now so full of recognition and longing that he doubted he would be able to hide his own if he returned her gaze now. He tried to ebb it down, swallow it and hide it. It was almost painful. Why? Why was he forced to do this? The son of Poseidon wanted to run over and hug her, pull back and kiss her like nothing else in the world. Put this sword away and never care about it again, just about her. Her and nothing else. But he couldn't. Zoe's face came back into his conscious to haunt him.

"_You have to try, Percy. At least try. You would be saving many lives, believe me. Please. Trust me on this?" _

He had to force himself not to shut his eyes to shut out everything else and not see what was happening any more. Finally, Annabeth opened her lips. The lips he wanted to feel on his so desperately.

"_Percy…"_ she breathed. It was very quiet but standing almost next to her she could hear her perfectly. He heard the other soldiers closing up around the Greeks, also pointing their weapons, following their leaders. No…no, this was getting worse and worse! He could hear it all in her voice and it was killing him. The pain in his heart was almost physical. He felt Reyna next to him stiffen. Did she sense his discomfort? Well she did try to save his ass. Man, he had far more control over her body and acting than he had.

"You know him? What is your business here, filthy intruders?!" she asked, looking at Annabeth. She scanned the small crowd of seven and acted convincingly surprised upon seeing Jason. The daughter of Mars hesitated to put down her weapon but instead bore it deeper into Annabeth's throat, almost drawing blood. She glared the daughter of Athena down who was now forced to look away from Percy to stare right back.

"What is this trickery? Why does this guy look like our Jason?", she asked, her voice so angry Percy wasn't even sure if she was acting any more. He was really glad he had her with her, not sure If any other Roman would have been able to act on her anger so well. Her keeping Annabeth busy gave him time to rearrange his composure. He looked at her briefly, studied her over and allowed pain to shoot through his face for a short moment. It didn't matter if any of them saw, he could put it off as his memory hurting him or something. Quickly, he looked at Reyna. He wanted to say something like 'I have no idea who they are' but Jason beat him to it. Anaclusmos was still at his throat but he didn't seem to feel very threatened. Percy lifted an eyebrow at that. Did he think Percy wasn't capable of cutting his throat? Well he probably wouldn't but still…

"I_ am_ Jason, Reyna. Look, we can explain all this if you'd just let us!" he exclaimed. Not a good idea. If Reyna wasn't acting she would have probably cut his throat already. Lucky for him. She now glared at him and pulled his sword away from Annabeth just to put the side of it directly at Jason's throat, launching forward at such speed that Percy was barely able to pull his own sword away. She glared him down and Jason seemed panicked for a second before glaring back.

"You break into our Castra, sneak around like you want to get to the tents were everybody is sleeping since it's _3:30 in the morning_ and you expect me to want to _listen_ to what you have to say?!" she breathed in but wasn't finished yet. "If you really are the Jason I know you would know that by the rules of our patron Lupa the wolf goddess I should have long killed you by now. You were gone for over two weeks, Jason! So what do you have to say for yourselves?" Percy heard growling behind him, indicating that they were several wolves gathered as well, confirming that Reyna's words were correct. To Percy's surprise, Jason wasn't the one to answer. The son of Jupiter had shot Annabeth a side glance, who nodded, obviously pulling herself together.

"Reyna, right? We have no intention to attack you or your Castra. We just came at this hour because the opportunity was probably the only one we would get to even find this place. There are monsters on our trail and we had to get rid of them, we can't exactly chose when they catch up to us." It was probably not even a lie but Percy was still surprised at the calmness in her voice and the conviction with which she addressed Reyna, who must appear to her like she could snap any minute. Probably her experiences with children of Ares –especially Clarisse- over the years. It did seem to startle the daughter of Mars as well and she let go of Jason's throat now, leaning back and lifting an eyebrow at her.

"And you are…?" she asked with as much disgust and disrespect as she could muster. Of course she knew exactly who this was. Percy had told her much about her, had told all of them. Suddenly, his tongue slipped.

"Annabeth…right? You're Annabeth." He saved himself in the last second. He had already told her in his dream that he knew her name. That didn't mean that he remembered anything else. That information was already given. He couldn't risk much with that…right? Her grey eyes now flew to him but he was prepared this time. He tried to keep his own green ones free from the pain and filled his expression with confusion. It wasn't even acted. He still was pretty confused why they showed up in the middle of the night and so sudden and why he needed to hide his memories so it wasn't that difficult. Reyna took up on his act and turned to him.

"So you do know them?", she asked and was calmed than one would expect. He nodded slowly but then caught her eyebrow lifting and quickly turned it into a slow shake of the head.

"No…not really…I don't know." He admitted, resulting in Reyna giving an over exaggerated sigh.

"Oh yeah, your amnesia. Well alright, I don't care. I'm tired anyway. You there, put them into the dungeons, give Percy your weapons and if you really just want to talk to us we can do that in the morning. Jason will be let out to explain himself and one of you too, you can chose one representative until tomorrow at 7 in the morning. Double the guards at that door in case somebody is following behind them. Good night." And with that, she turned around, smiled at Percy victoriously and then walked away. Percy shot her an amazed nod and then turned back, his expression stony again. He was handed a bag from one of the other soldiers who looked like he had a serious headache. He was from second legion and Percy frowned at him.

"Get some rest." He commanded with a tone that sounded more like a suggestion and the boy gladly followed his order and walked down the hill, trailing behind Reyna. Strangely enough he wasn't the only one with the headache. Two others, then a third said they had the same symptoms and excused themselves. One after another, the Greeks stepped forward and gave him the weapons inside the bag. There was Jason, who dropped a golden sword in, Annabeth, who gave him a dagger he recognized very well but didn't show. She avoided his gaze now, probably thinking that he didn't remember and didn't want to hurt herself further. On one side he was stricken with pain because of that but on the other he was glad for it. The son of Poseidon wasn't sure if he could handle her looking into his eyes for long without pulling her into a hug or kiss her brains out (that would prove as much work with her especially). Then there was a girl with brunette hair that looked native American in the flashlights and dropped another dagger into his bag. A spanish looking guy was next and he dropped a hammer in without another comment but then grinned at him mischievously. Oh, this one was hiding something. But he just frowned and pretended to not understand. Next was Grover the Satyr, who looked pretty stricken himself and dropped a reed pipe into the back without looking him in the eye but shooting a small hopeful glance that he avoided with great difficulty. There was Nico di Angelo, too. Percy was surprised upon seeing him. He didn't know why but he hadn't assumed for Nico to take part in a quest. It normally wasn't really his thing to work with others. Finally, there was Thalia. The daughter of Zeus dropped in her spear but left the rest. She was hiding magical weapons and he knew it. He couldn't hide a smirk when he said

"Your bracelet as well." to her. Startled, the daughter of Zeus looked up to him and directly in his eyes, where he tried to hide most of his knowledge but couldn't hide the smirk. It was one thing to protect Annabeth but another to refrain from teasing his cousin. Since she didn't seem to find anything in his eyes, she just glared at him and let the bracelet fall in. She probably concluded he remembered her shield from a cloudy memory. It wasn't that wrong after all.

Seven soldiers in whole brought the Greeks down to the dungeon. His shift was almost over anyway so he trailed behind them and couldn't help but stare at them all. He didn't know three of them but the rest was really familiar to him and he wanted to talk to them, ask them about what happened. He rounded to his tent and closed the door behind him, sinking down and burying his head in his knees. Tears weren't shed. Of course not. But it was still difficult to hold himself together. He was glad to have the freedom to breath normally in here. To collect his thoughts a little. Tomorrow they were going to speak to the council. But before that, he had to make sure the entire first legion knew not to tell them about what they knew, what he knew. Why again had he assumed he was able to do this? It took a few minutes before he could move at all. He forced himself to swallow the guilt and pain and move forward. There had to be a way out of this. And if he was saving lives, including Annabeth's, that he could definitely do this. So he took a deep breath and stood up. He stripped off his armor and made way to the only people who may be able to tell him what to do.

With more purpose than he had thought he could muster, he made his way to another tent and knocked very quietly, four times in a certain rhythm, a sign they had made up between the members of the first legion. Rather impatiently, he waited until tired feet dragged themselves to the door and reluctantly opened them. Her blonde hair was in a mess and she was in her nightdress but she still somehow managed to look decent.

"What? Are you serious? It's the middle of the night. I didn't expect you of all people to even set foot out of your bed!" Dakota hissed and Percy had to smile. That was correct. In other nights, that was. He swallowed, his face serious again.

"The Greeks arrived." And immediately had her attention. Her blue eyes widened and she lifted her index finger to tell him to wait outside while she dressed herself. This was the first visit. Gwen was next and he would probably take the two with him. Because just back in his tent, he had decided that he had to visit he dungeons. Because Zoe had said something about Hades breaking lose when they came out to make negotiations. Seriously, this was the worst plan ever. How was he supposed to get through this with 30 minutes of mental preparation? And those negotiations were already tomorrow morning! So he couldn't exactly get back to his bed, right? Not that he would be able to sleep anyway.

And he assumed it was just the same for Annabeth herself…

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_Haha I bet. Poor things, my poor bbs D: But yeah, I'm good at making them suffer...it's just so fun to write :D. I bet that conversation in the dungeon should prove interesting XD. Look forward to it ;P. I'm not promising any fast updates again but I'll definitely try! We're REALLY close to the end now ;P Remember there are still some prophecy lines left? Yeah, we're getting to those now ;D_

_Btw I loved writing Acting!Reyna! 8D How'd you like her? ;P_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ They meet/fight in Portland, Oregon  
_

**Next Question:_ WHAT'S THE FULL NAME OF PIPER'S GRANDFATHER? _**_(okay that's rather difficult I admit xD)_


	98. Something's fishy about Percy

_March, 11th 2013_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: Lamia, avengeme **(unfortunately it's not that easy :/. But you'll see ;P)**, olympusgirl12 **(soon, my dear. Soon :3 *strokes your head soothingly*)**, KirstyH96 **(I totally understand that lol. No biggie :3. And don't worry, it gets better...after it gets worse. I'm so evil, sorry xD),** readingqueen811, Moonlight Sea Water756 **(yup, that's him! And omg thank youuu! *hug* *blush* I'm flattered xP)**, AnonymousReaderPerson **(you would be right there :))**, olegnAiDociN **(yay, no implosion! I hope you didn't this time either, I'm so sorry for taking so long again D: and thank you :3 Glad you enjoyed it ^^)**, AngelGirl2000 **(yay, account! *cheers*. Yeah, I know, that's harsh ^^" But it's what's to be expected of them I guess xP)**, impatientkid **(nooo, never :o I promised I'd end it so I will ^^. No matter how long it will take me hehe. And yeah, you'll get that this chapter! :D Enjoy it ;P)**, Nadine **(No, I'm really not but thanks xD)**, yanksrock615** (yeah, I'm sorry...it gets better soon ^^)_  
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**A/N: **_Hey there my loyal readers :)_

_*sigh* it's been a month again hasn't it? It's really horrible how time flies when you start watching a TV show and rolling around in bed all day. This time it was 'Supernatural' and that show is freaking long (but awesome (hehe awesome? Get it? No? okay...))...so yeah. That's where my month went. Great, right? Yeah, I don't think so too...but hey! I promised I'd finish this and if anybody is still watching this fanficion I'm happy to tell you that I will keep that promise and that here is the next chapter! :D Things are about to get real, guys *muhaha*_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

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**Chapter XCVIII**

**Annabeth**

Her neck hurt like Hades. Not that all else on her body didn't hurt anyway. Especially her heart ached though. Right now she would like to rip the damn thing out and throw it across this stupidass cell the Romans shoved them into. The daughter of Athena was pretty sure it would hurt less than it did right now. There were no tears. No, she was fresh out of tears apparently. And she knew they wouldn't help anyway. Spewing salty liquid from her eyes wouldn't bring Percy's memories back either.

Of course, she had been prepared. She had assumed he didn't remember. Of course she had. But even though Chiron had warned her, the others had warned her, there had still been hope inside of her. Hope he might have remembered a little more than just her name. Which was flattering but it really didn't help much. Not when her seriously forgot all they've been through. And that wasn't even the worst bit. She could live with that. Make him remember even. Tell him what happened, who she was and he would believe her. He would. He was Percy after all. But the big problem was: She really wasn't sure he was. Was he still her Percy? Because that stone hard face she saw just there was definitely not her Percy. Not her Seaweed brain who couldn't for the life of him take something like guard duty of all things seriously. And not her Seaweed brain that held his sword against Jason's neck like it was something he could cut without a second thought.

"I'm starving." Leo's complaint pulled her out of her thoughts. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. Appeared she didn't have to because Piper beat her to it.

"Seriously? The Romans trapped us in their basement and you're worried about your stomach? Yeah, that's totally our biggest worry.", she asked, a lot or sarcasm dripping from her voice. Jason gave a dry laugh.

"Yeah, he's probably going to eat all of you if you don't feed him. Hear me, guard?" at the last part he had lifted his voice so the guard at the end of their corridor –which wasn't very long- could hear him. No response came. Man, the Romans sure lived up to their reputation. They had been in here for about an hour now. None of them dreamed of trying to sleep. It was the middle of the night but all seven of them were wide awake. Nico had offered to get them out of here with shadow travel, Thalia had said she could break them out with her bow no problem and Leo had said he could pick the lock with his tool belt. But Annabeth had been forced to calm all of them down and decline. They had to stay here, they had to gain the trust of the Romans. The only way she would flee from here was if her life was seriously threatened. Or Percy's. The latter was probably worse for her right now. But neither of that was the case so she had to calm down her friend's whispered plans to get out of here. Thalia had quickly understood, Nico and Grover too. Piper had been reluctant and Jason agreed halfheartedly that the Romans wouldn't take it lightly if they escaped prison like it was no problem. But Annabeth was pretty sure that Leo would like to turn up the flame and wreck this thing. The daughter of Athena had tried to explain that even if they got out of here with Leo's powers, he would have to get past the traps and they didn't look like you could survive them without probably a curse of Achilles. Which none of them wanted to get and couldn't right now anyway.

"Well good luck with that, there are seriously many Romans out there. Could take you more than two years to eat them all.", came a dry comment from the other side of the bars. Annabeth's eyes widened immediately. Oh she knew that voice just two well. What was he doing down here? Why did he do that to her on top of all things? The others looked up as well, most of them were sitting on the beds or –like her- the floor. Percy was just standing there in person, hands in his pockets and purple sweater on, looking casual like he just walked into here on accident while cruising down the streets of San Francisco. In the shadows behind him Annabeth could spot two girls. Both of them blonde but one had short hair while the other was the one which Jason had described as 'Dakota, daughter of Venus.' Oh she remembered _her_ alright.

"What are you doing down here? It's not like we could break out or anything.", Thalia asked with a false bitterness in her voice. Annabeth appreciated her effort to pretend she didn't really know Percy and make it easier for all of them. But Percy just smiled his half smile and he could just as well have stabbed her in the stomach.

"Actually, I brought you food. And to be honest…I'm not sure if you couldn't break out if you'd want to. Even without the weapons." Was it just her or was he seriously glancing at Nico for a second? No, she must have imagined that. The son of Poseidon reached into his sweater pocket and got out something that looked suspiciously like cereal bars. He stepped forward and stretched out his hand through the bar. He wasn't tossing it on the floor like a Roman soldier probably would but rather waited for one of them to get up and actually grab it. Grover did it and the Satyr stared at his friend longer than he should. For a second Annabeth couldn't see Percy's face but Grover had a really strange look on his face when he turned around and handed each of them a bar. Annabeth wasn't hungry but she kept it anyway, staring at it rather than that person who looked like Percy and stood on the other side of the bars. It was eerily quiet in the cell. None of them declined what the son of Poseidon had accused them of and Percy frowned.

"Why aren't you then?" he asked, his head tilted a little and he leaned one of his shoulders against the bars. Jason was the one to answer this time. He stood from the bed and walked over to the bars, positioning himself directly before Percy.

"Like we said, we want to talk. You don't believe us?", he asked but Percy kept smiling.

"Oh believe me, I do. But most of the others won't. Who had the stupid idea to walk into a Roman camp in the middle of the night? You can be glad I was there with Reyna. Anybody else would probably have slit all of your throats on the spot." He said and somehow he seemed seriously concerned. His eyes wandered over to Annabeth and she felt his gaze on her but couldn't respond to it. Not again. She couldn't handle that emptiness again. Not like in that dream when he stared at her like he didn't know her. Or back then at the entrance. Not again…

"Like we said. Monsters were chasing us.", Jason explained again. It was only half the truth but it sufficed. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Gaea's Monsters?" he asked as if that was a completely normal question. Suddenly, Annabeth couldn't hold back any more. She felt herself jump to her feet and walk over to the bars. Jason stepped aside gladly and the daughter of Athena poked Percy's chest with her finger. This was the first touch they had in weeks and she couldn't even enjoy it...another part of her died inside but she swallowed it down. This wasn't the time. He knew more than she had thought.

"How much do you know about that?" she asked and couldn't keep a certain tone of surprise out of her voice. Percy's expression changed when she stepped closer. Was that hurt? Guilt? No, again she must have imagined things. Suddenly, the girl with blond long hair, Dakota, was up at the bars and shoved Percy back to take his place.

"Listen, Missy. I don't know who you are or what you want but we do know who our enemy is. For all I know you could be working for her. Those orange shirts you're wearing? We had hellhounds in here that were wearing the same thing around their necks. If this is some kind of sick joke to lure us in it won't work." She grabbed Annabeth's jacket hard and glared into her grey eyes with rage. Her own blue ones sparkled but the daughter of Athena didn't feel like backing down at all. This was the chick who was after Percy? Oh then this wasn't about Gaea anymore. Not at all.

"Oh yeah? Well I believe you fell for some seriously dumb trap then! Gaea is setting you up against us if you may not have noticed. Not the brightest in the house are we?" she snarled and shot her an intensive death glare, grabbing the soldier's own shirt. Suddenly, she felt hands grab her and pull her back while Dakota was dragged away herself by Percy. She shoved Grover off herself and continued glaring behind where Percy now stood again. The son of Poseidon sighed.

"Look. I know this is really weird…"

"Oh you have no idea.", Annabeth interrupted him and pressed her lips together. Percy started again, this time looking at her directly. His expression looked strange, somehow also painful but she tried not to interpret too much into it. Not again.

"Just understand that I can't go against Lupa openly. And Lupa says that you especially need to stay down here tomorrow, Annabeth. Do you understand? Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, this is very important." He leaned forward meaningfully, boring his green eyes into her grey ones, hopefully without revealing anything of his true feelings and just the importance of the message. Annabeth looked absolutely puzzled but finally, she nodded slowly.

"Alright, I…that's fine I guess. We wanted to send Jason up anyway.", she said, glancing over at Jason who nodded as well, a frown on his forehead. Percy smiled uneasily as if this really made him feel all better and Annabeth narrowed her eyes at that. What was going on here? Something was not right. This was completely fishy, why would Lupa care who of them went up for the negotiations? The blonde had to admit that she did want to do that herself, after all she had prepared the words in her head for what felt like an eternity. And she would totally protest against this order, throw the script at the wall and go up there herself anyway…if it wouldn't have been Percy who said it. Because now she wasn't sure what she was supposed to think anymore. A side of her wanted to believe that he knew everything and he didn't want her to get hurt. That was the screaming part of her brain that wanted to throw things and make him come over here and kiss her already. Then there was the vary part that was probably influenced by her mother greatly that wanted explanation for this behavior and the truth about what was going on in this Roman camp. Something wasn't right, she could just feel it. Whether it was Percy acting not like himself or strange orders coming not from Lupa or something entirely different, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. And that was what unnerved her. After all, children of Athena hated not knowing. That of course included being left in the dark about something. But despite her desire to say something, ask something, anything about what was going on, she kept her mouth shut and observed instead as Percy made his uncertain goodbyes and promised them a nice big breakfast for the morning before he told them he would try the best to calm Reyna down and make the other Romans listen to them. Then he left, just like that. Part of her still wanted to grab him and drag him to her, break open that door and hug him, hold onto him or anything, really anything that would somehow make him remember or remind him or at least _something_. The daughter of Athena did no such thing. Her gaze fell to the floor as soon as the door shut behind the son of Poseidon and with her back against the bars now, she slid down to the floor, her eyes closed and head turned to the ceiling. Forcing herself not to cry she now occupied herself by eating her cereal bar. Her head was such a mix of emotions now that she honestly felt like vomiting but forced down the food anyway. She would need all the strength she could muster, that was for sure.

"So…we just sent Jason up because that Lupa chick says so?", Thalia questioned, already having finished her food but munching on the last bite. She threw the garbage into the middle of the cell without really caring where it landed.

"It's not Lupa who said that. This came from Percy.", Grover argued. So he had noticed it too. Of course. Even if the empathy link would be weakened when they were separated, it was now probably still existent between the two. Was that why Grover had looked so confused after taking the food from Percy? Probably. Leo lifted an eyebrow, obviously confused.

"But he said-"

"Well, he was lying.", intervened Grover when Leo wanted to protest. "I can read emotions, remember? With Percy it's even stronger, believe me, he made that up." He said and grabbed himself the wrapping Thalia had thrown into the center of the cell, chewing on it as if it was even more delicious than the bar itself, which it probably was to him. Annabeth stared at Grover for a bit. He had been astonishingly quiet and reserved this whole journey. The daughter of Athena assumed it was his way of dealing with all of this even if she was used to him blabbering when he was nervous instead of turning in on himself.

"Then why? Why would he make that up? He could have just told us it was him who thought so.", Piper asked, her brow furrowed as she now leaned against Jason, who had sat down next to her. Jason nodded as if to say he thought so too. But then he pressed his lips together.

"I don't know…something's not right here. The way they're all acting, the fact that we're still alive alone isn't normal. I know that when I was in charge and somebody would have walked in in the middle of the night they would have been dead on the spot. Percy seems to have climbed the ladder fast, he's on par with Reyna if not even higher, hangs out with people from the first legion. Why would he want you to stay down here if Lupa didn't say such a thing, what would that accomplish?" he asked, voicing what most of them probably thought. All eyes flew to Annabeth. Yeah, she had expected that. So she just smiled and finally opened her eyes again completely.

"I don't know. I really don't. I want to hope that he remembers something but…it's not that, not really. But even when he's brainwashed or become roman through and through, Percy's ability to judge the situation here is far better than ours. He's been here for a while, he probably knows what he's doing, even if lying is involved in front of the other Romans or in general. So let's just go through with what he wants us to do and if the situation is somehow going rotten Nico is getting us out of here." She suggested and looked at Nico for confirmation. The son of Hades nodded and smiled at her for reassurance. It wasn't a very solid plan but it was probably all they had to go on right now.

Finally, after the guards were back and there was still no light down here, the demigods decided it was maybe best to get at least some rest before going up there at all. They all found themselves a comfortable place on the ground or on one of the beds and closed their eyes. Annabeth couldn't sleep. Of course not. Not after meeting Percy again and seeing the changes. Even if she could calm her mind long enough to close her eyes, she wouldn't want to, afraid of what dreams she would have that night. So she just lay there, her mind racing and hoped that she would find some answers when the new day would arrive.

Morning came and Annabeth woke up from her half-sleep she had fallen into by the sound of their cell door opening. There as a tall guy standing in the doorway and he looked as if he just escaped from a wrestling team. Annabeth was the first one to sit up since she was probably the only one not having slept at all. Her grey eyes spotted the tattoo on the guys arm and identified him as a son of Mars, having two crossed spears on his forearm, just like Reyna had yesterday. A thought flashed through her mind. How did they get that tattoo on Percy anyway? Wasn't his skin supposed to be invulnerable? But she was driven from her thoughts when the guy came over to her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet roughly.

"Hey! What in Hades do you think you're doing!?" she protested, having an internal argument with herself if she should just judo-throw the guy or stay calm. Then she stopped in her tracks. When the guy turned around to drag her out, she could swear there was something on his neck. Some kind of circle with symbols in it. W-was that normal? The back of her neck tingled now and she rubbed it, her long hair falling over the spot. Jason was at his feet quickly, walking over to the guy to stand in his way without hesitation. She had to hand it to him, he sure emitted authority.

"I'm supposed to go with you, it was Lupa's orders. You do recognize me, Steve?", he asked and his blue eyes bored into the bold guy's. However, the son of Mars just stopped in his tracks and stared at Jason as if he didn't understand, dumbly tilting his head.

"I received no such orders. The blond girl comes with me. Now get out of the way, Jason Grace." He said and suddenly reached out far too quick, showing Jason aside with more power than he should be able to muster as a human being and made all of them jump and Piper scream in horror, rushing over to where Jason landed with a very unpleasant crunching sound. Annabeth searched the gaze of the others, in this case especially Thalia, who seemed at the verge of attacking. Not now, wait until the time is right, her gaze was supposed to say and she saw Thalia trying to calm herself, rushing over to her brother but not without shooting the Mars-guy a serious death glare. Outside of the cell, two other big, muscular Romans were waiting and Annabeth gulped. What was it about them? They were so still, emotionless…even far more than good soldiers would be, more like…puppets. And as they turned around, walking down the hallway, Annabeth saw more tattoos at the back of their neck. W-were these glowing? What was going on here? What in Hades was that? She looked back to the others, now panic in her gaze. Something wasn't right here, something was so very very wrong that she couldn't even fathom to put it into words. She had thought that once they reached Roman camp, the fight would be over and they would have done it. But she should have known that nothing was every this easy, nothing was ever just over, not for demigods. The three guys dragged her down the hallway, deactivating all the traps along the way. It was dark and she could just see their tattoos, glowing in a faint, hollow green that sent a shiver down her spine. That was when she made out the word that was written around the symbols in a circle:

_ὑ__πόταξις – submission_

And suddenly, she felt as if somebody had smashed her head in ice cold water, icy droplets dripping down her neck and face. She had been right, more right than she had wanted. These were puppets, sick, controlled roman puppets and she didn't have to think twice about whose plan this was and realize that it was very, very bad…

...

* * *

_Mh yeah...I'm being cruel again. I should really stop that...but it's too much fun x_X. __Okay I really got a problem, haven't I? ^^"_

_Btw if any of you have a decent fanfiction about a spn AU where Dean says yes to Michael (that is maybe not Destiel focused) and what happenes after that AND you could tell me where to find that, that would be really really awesome and I would love you forever x_x. Yeah...xP_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ It's Thomas McLean :)  
_

**Next Question:_ WHAT'S THE NAME OF CLARISSE LA RUE'S CURRENT SPEAR? _**_(you know, her second one)_


	99. Visions always come true

_March, 25th 2013_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: Lamia **(wow, you're almost always the first, respect ^^)**, Combatffff, KirstyH96 **(yeah, sorry. I excell at letting you hanging I know :/)**, AnonymousReaderPerson **(Ah, there you are MehhPerson! I was wondering ^^ And yeah, I wanted to make it longer to make up for it :3 This time I was a little quicker xD)**, AngelGirl2000 **(mh yeah, was quite hard at times but I always somehow got back to it, promised myself to :D hope you got it done in the end :)), **Guest **(thanks ^^. You go to deviantart, then go to kat-anni the user. Or just google kat-anni, you mostly get my DA profile then ^^. There it's the fourth piece in my gallery right now, named "show me Percy" :3 hope I could help you ^^)**, blazerules34 **(omg really? I wish I could get my grandma to read that :D Did she like SoN? ^^)**, Nadine **(thank you very much ^^ I'm warning you, this one isn's really better *hide*)**, Percabeth **(the story will have exactly 100 chapters (so just one after this) and an epilog ^^)**, That Was Such A Face Palm** (you read it all at once? o.o omg I'm so flattered that you got through all this xD I take it you liked it then? Here's the next chapter, we're through really soon :3 and thank youuu! *hug*),** olegnAiDociN **(no, no I love your ramblings! :3 I wish you a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! *hugs you tightly* I made it in time, yay. I'm really proud now XD. Really hope this brings you a little joy and you have a nice day :3. and yay, another spn fan! Then maybe you'll look forward to the spn fanfic I'm about to write. But shhhh, it's still in planning, nothing explicit yet, you're the first one to know about it ;P tell me how your birthday was :)), **Guest** (I'll try but we're through soon so...endings are hard. Sorry about that :/), **impatientkid **(me yeah, it does :D This time it's even worse *muhaha* lol glad I made you laugh :3)_  
_

**A/N: **_Hey there my loyal readers :)_

_Oh my god we're at chapter 99 guys! That means the next one will be number 100 and that will be the last oneeeee :D. Or rather D: I really have fun writing this even if it takes me time between drawing and university but I do enjoy it. And it's going to be over soon :/ But don't worry, I'm going to make chatper 101, a sappy epilog were all answers are involved XD. So yeah, 100 chapters and an epilog ^^._

_Not much to say...the plot thickens and I hope I didn't overdo it and you can still picture what I wrote in this chapter as I find big battles really confusing and hard to write so I made it a little confusing since it is...hehe. Yeah. I'll stop talking now xD_

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter XCIX**

**General POV**

Zoe had been spending the last few hours in the infirmary. These signs on the back of the neck were on so many soldiers now that she couldn't even count them and they were all claiming to have terrible headaches. Gwen claimed they were running out of medication soon and Zoe's worry had risen further. After all, this was just the beginning. The terrible plan to make the Romans fight each other to the death without them being able to control themselves was still on the roll and not at all completed.

Luckily, Percy had assured her that he had gone down to the dungeons and talked the Greeks into sending Jason up instead of Annabeth. It would delay the problem because Annabeth was the center mark, even if she may not know about it and sending up Jason was far more effective anyway, since he knew the Romans and could probably negotiate with them far better than Annabeth could. The Greeks weren't aware that Percy remembered and that was good. Because Zoe recalled from her vision what happened if she did. And she wouldn't want that, couldn't let that happen. But was it even worth trying? Until now, all her visions had become true. But then again she had never really tried to work against it. So why not at least try? Everything was better than what awaited them ahead if they didn't. And she wasn't able to just watch anyway.

"Hey. What're you doing still up? You should get some sleep.", Percy said. Oh, he should take his own advice. His face was clearly stating that he didn't get the sleep he needed and that worries were keeping him from getting anywhere near his trusty hammock. In fact, Zoe doubted he had slept at all ever since she woke him up and that could have been merely two hours of sleep. But it didn't matter right now. She herself was far too anxious to even think about sleeping.

"I'm not tired. Something is so very wrong here and I have the feeling it's all waiting until morning comes. Did you really make sure Annabeth doesn't leave the dungeons?" she asked and rubbed her forehead. Percy nodded and dropped on the bed next to her.

"I told them not to send her outside. They seemed to listen to me, trust me enough to decide what is best. Gods on Olympus, I wish I could just tell them!" he cursed and buried his face in his big hands. Zoe looked at him with sympathy and worry. This was really hard on him and Zoe couldn't shake the feeling that it was partly her fault. But she was trying to prevent something really nasty and bad from happening, so maybe it was better this way. Still, she felt sorry so she smiled and rubbed Percy's back a little for comfort.

"It's going to be alright. Better this than what I saw, believe me." She reassured him and the son of Poseidon just nodded slowly. Finally, he got up and walked over to Gwen, asking her what the situation was.

* * *

Morning came quickly, the sun rising earlier every morning now since the shortest day was way past them. Annabeth had to squirt her eyes shut at the bright daylight flooding into them as the bulky guys dragged her along roughly. The daughter of Athena briefly wondered what all these rooms in the white marble building were for before she already felt the direct sunlight hitting her skin through the windows and heard a gigantic double door open. She was shoved through it into the open and for the first time, the blonde saw the Roman camp in its full glory in bright sunlight and it was wonderful.

As an architect she couldn't help but be astonished. The marble building they came from was impressive in itself but then there was the training arena, several temples and whatnot, stables, all built out of marble or something similar. And the tents! She had never seen tents this pretty and partly bizarre anywhere on mortal markets. She spotted a tent for every Roman god before she was again pushed forwards towards the middle of the whole place, where many soldiers seemed to be gathered for something. Before them was standing Percy, looking a tad ridiculous with a toga over his armor, his back turned towards her. Reyna was next to him, speaking to the crowd of Romans when some of then began to mumble and look towards Annabeth, still escorted above the wet grass towards the group of people.

That was the moment Percy looked around. And that was the first time Annabeth saw how tired he looked, worn out and not himself. His green eyes spotted her, saw the dudes around him with emotionless expressions and panic filled his gaze, sheer, utter panic. He shot Reyna a glance, who looked just as stricken and then suddenly came running towards her. It seemed to her as if everything happened in slowmotion. A few seconds of staring had been going on between her and the Romans. Then suddenly, all Hades broke loose.

Soldiers began attacking soldiers. The Mars guys dove toward Percy as soon as he arrived and Annabeth felt herself yelling even though her ears were already filled with screams and the sound of metal hitting metal. Her grey eyes tried to progress what exactly was happening but even as she spotted everything, no part of her brain could quite understand. They were attacking each other. All of them, fighting to the teeth. Percy held his ground against the Mars guys, which was impressive but he wouldn't hold out long. Annabeth didn't have her dagger and she felt panic rise inside of her, seeing as she was in the middle of a battlefield and the only one without protection or a weapon. That's when she saw Reyna approaching, telling Percy to leave the three guys to her and the son of Poseidon just nodded, glancing to something behind her with a relieved expression. The blonde turned around, her ponytail flying in the wind and already expecting another attacker when she spotted Dakota, holding out her dagger to her in an offering motion as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

Alright, now she was _really_ confused. Didn't this girl hate her just a few hours ago? But she guessed that differences like that were pushed aside on the battlefield, which she appreciated since she really felt better with the familiar dagger in her hand. She looked up and between the two demigods by her side, Percy and Dakota.

"What in Hades is happening?" she asked as she knocked out a soldier that had planned to attack Percy from behind. The black haired teenager pressed his lips together while he swatted off another soldier without really hurting him.

"They're not themselves. Gaia is behind this. I told you to stay in the cells, didn't I?" he said and sounded as if he had to force himself to stay mad at her but couldn't quite since he had to concentrate on the fighting. Annabeth lifted an eyebrow but continued fighting. She now noticed a difference between the fighting soldiers. There were the attackers, ferocious and out of control, not really paying attention to who they hurt, just lashing out at what moved, anger clear as day written all over their faces. Then there were the defenders, simply the ones that were attacked and tried to knock out as many as possible.

More familiar faces seemed to come towards them. She spotted a brunette girl striking down another one of the Mars guys just as Reyna had finished the last one and came running over to them. Annabeth hadn't noticed how they had become the epicenter of the fight without really noticing. Was it just her or were most of these attackers fighting their way to Percy? How could that be, why him? Of all people?

Soon, the daughter of Athena found herself fighting back to back with seven people: Percy of course, who was keeping really close to her, watching her back the entire time. She already found that really strange, if he didn't really know her that much but maybe it was just a gut feeling or an instinct. At least that was what Annabeth hoped for. Then there was Dakota of course, the girl had her way with a dagger and with her sling and she was strangely fast at switching between those two, knocking out people all over the place with a hit in the right spots. Then there was a girl with short hair, she had also been in the cell with Percy just a few hours ago. She looked exhausted but was fabulous with the bow. If Annabeth had to guess she'd say she was a daughter of Apollo and she also recognized her from the lakeside in SLC. Then there was Reyna, furiously hacking and knocking with her double swords, showing skill above anything Annabeth had seen the children of Ares do at their camp. Another boy was there, bulky and strong but he had the facial features of a child of Hermes. The way he dodged most attacks was similar to the Stoll's fighting style. If they ever appeared to the lessons that was. Another brown haired girl, the one who knocked down the Mars guy before, showed great skill with throwing knives. She had grey eyes like herself and judging by that and the way she kept shouting things about positions to assume and tactics, Annabeth assumed she was a Roman half sister of hers. Last but not least there was the mortal from the lake. A short young girl with black hair and dark eyes who was holding herself surprisingly well, knocking out soldiers when they attacked others from behind or dodging their attacks so she could hit them in the neck.

And Annabeth did notice something else: The attackers were avoiding her. Everybody else was jumped at, sliced at, stabbed at and bitten but her, she was simply ignored as if not there. Or not worth attacking. She didn't know if she wanted to be grateful or angry. In the end she went for angry, taking it as an advantage to knock more of them down. Unfortunately though, as they soon had to notice, the soldiers didn't stay down for long. All of them had burning marks in their neck as she had seen them before on the sons of Mars and it was unnverving her not to know where they came from or rather if they were from Gaia, how the goddess managed to put them there…

* * *

Zoe was filled with panic. Sheer, utter panic. She fought rather well, yeah. But only because she wanted to avert what she knew would happen very soon now. She felt Percy next to her for a moment before he drifted off through the crowd again, his posture tense and ready but not just because of the attacking soldiers. After all he had been prepared for that. But the young girl saw the way he was realizing that he was the one being attacked the most and that Annabeth was ignored. Still he seemed to want to protect her more than he cared for his own life and it made Zoe even more nervous to see him that way. He had forgotten to act by now, thinking that it was meaningless as the attacks got more forceful and angry with the minute. Every time they knocked one down, he or she just stood up and jumped at them with even more force. They reached superhuman strength by now and even if the first legion seemed to have been spared along with most of the second, they couldn't hold out forever against these mindless zombies without emotion or a sense of pain. Zoe feared what would happen If they woke up as some of them already seemed to posses mortal wounds and just stood back up again like badly played puppets held by a string.

When the guy he had just hit in the neck immediately got up again, it hit her. This wave of familiarity. Her vision slowed and she whirled around, seeing what she feared she would see:

Hazel, staring at Annabeth in realization as she saw that the attacking soldiers were completely avoiding her where she stood. She saw the mark on Annabeth's sweaty neck and as Zoe screamed, wanting to warn her, the daughter of Minerva lunged at her half-sister. Percy saw or heard her scream, she wasn't sure since the noise drowned in the mass of weapons and fists clashing and the son of Poseidon swirled around as fast as he could, saw Hazel raise her knife and his green eyes widened. He didn't think about it, Zoe could see that. His body just acted on pure instinct as he jumped forward and grabbed Annabeth's shoulder, shielding her with the front of his own body. Hazel's dagger flew through the air and hit Percy dead in the center of his stomach. The blade went in completely and Hazel's eyes widened as she screamed his name as well as her half-sister did, with panic in their voices.

"PERCY! NO…no no no no…" she could hear the sheer panic in Annabeth's voice as it echoed over the crowd and over all the noises.

By now, the panic was overwhelmed by worry, no, another type of panic. For Percy. The mortal saw Annabeth grab Percy to stabilize him. She wasn't able to hold his full weight as his knees seemed to give out from the sudden pain as he sunk to the floor. Both of them were surrounded by the others soldiers from the first legion now, all of them had to put aside their worries and concern for the son of Poseidon to get him from being injured any further. They fought of the others soldiers that tried to get to him and Zoe felt her feet drag her in that direction.

Her own heart seemed to pump against her rips like a drum, mercilessly thrumming in her ears and filtering out all the sound she might need to hear. But none of it really mattered as she clearly saw the panic in Annabeth's eyes and the tears that flew down her cheeks as she tried to keep Percy awake. And she saw the red liquid leaving the corner of Percy's mouth, saw it building a stain on his purple sweater, making a strong contrast to the fabric's color. The red blood that was Percy's and that was leaving him in a speed that shouldn't be possible for a guy as nice as him, somebody as strong as him.

Again, it didn't matter because the worst was yet to come. She willed her feet to be faster, stronger, to ignore the agony in her chest. Because now Percy said something and she saw him stroke Annabeth's cheek lovingly, whipping away her tears with his thumb as she had seen many lovers do even in the time she had lived in. And she saw Annabeth realize, her grey eyes lighting up in disbelieve and then in joy, the tears coming even more. Around them the battle raged on and none of the bystanders that tried to protect the hurting Percy had the chance to stop or even notice the conversation. Not even Dakota, who seemed close to a breakdown herself and Gwen, who seemed to want nothing more than rush to her friend and heal him. Just the daughter of Midas who fought her way through the soldiers between them, elbowing some that were on their own side and trying to fight back the tears so she could still see properly. This couldn't be happening! She had tried so hard to fight against this!

But Zoe had to watch without being able to reach them in time, had to see Percy go limp from exhaustion (he was going to be fine! He was!) and Annabeth's eyes changing to merciless, how in the middle of battle her tattoo in the back began to glow and the blonde warrior lifted her knife and slowly raised it, aiming directly for Percy's throat.

And she had to watch how the bronze glowing knife rushed downwards…

* * *

_Mh...you're going to kill me for this...aren't you? _

_I'm really sorry T_T But this has to be, otherwise the tention wouldn't be at its maximum xP. This is probably the most cruel one i did, I know. But bear through it, you'll see what happens soon! x_x_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

**Answer of the last Quiz:**_ It's Maimer but they call it Lamer behind her back :)  
_

**Next Question:_ ON WHAT BEACH DOES THE NEREID GIVE PERCY THE PEARLS FROM HIS FATHER? _**_(in tLT)_


	100. The Wise Girl and her Seaweed Brain

_April, 13th 2013_

**I don't own any of the characters, Rick Riordan does!  
**

**Beta for this Chapter:** _None_

**Chapter dedicated to: Renegade, That Was Such A Face Palm **(aww, that's sweet, thanks! I'm always flattered when people tell me that they actually read all the way through the 99 chapters I wrote xD that needs quite some stamina xP)**, olegnAiDociN **(How was the play? :) I'm glad your birthday was awesome and that I helped! :D Yay :3 And the last dw episode was sooo good and sweet and sad D: I loved it XD What'd you think? ^^ the spn fanfic might still take a while, I will write far ahead before posting it ^^")**, impatientkid **(Yeah well, not quite XD. But it's her perspective, I hope you'll understand once this and the epilogue is over :))**, AnonymousReaderPerson **(I'm sorryyy D: I hope you could make it until now with the tention XD)**, avengeme **(Hope you're still alive ~)**, KirstyH96 **(haha I feel you :D I sometimes pull questions out of random because i feel too lazy to get up too xP)**, AngelGirl2000 **(No, I'm doing an epilogue with all the explaining ^^. Annabeth was possessed by the mark on her neck, that Gaea made Circe put there and that activated as soon as she found out that Percy knew, which would substitute for enough positive emotion to turn her into a Gaea puppet instead (since the mark reverses that emotion). Will all be explained in the epilogue, sorry for the confusion xP)**, alyaJackson **(will be explained in the epilogue :))**, elliefs **(not for this chapter but omg, I laughed so hard XD)**, redandwhitetigers **(don't worry, I'm not much of a killer, I more like you know...torturing, wounding etc. :D omg I'm a psychopath xP)**, readingqueen811 **(awwwwwww :3 Thank you *hugs* I just blushed xD. I hope you like this one too, it should make your day sweeter indeed this time around :3)_  
_

**A/N: **_Hey there my loyal readers :)_

_SORRY FOR THE LONG PAUSE AGAIN X_X BUT HEEEEEEEY, WE REACHED CHAPTER 100! omg I can't believe this actually happens...I wrote freaking 100 chapters..._

_Anyway! This chapter has a much more happy note but it still leaves a loooot of questions. First wanted to put the focus on Zoe but figured most of you probably first want to find out about Percy and Annabeth sooo...I left the cliffhanger from them lying around and instead wrote this. Zoe's issue will be solved in the epilogue that will still come (promise :3) and explain some things. You can read this as an end if you want but the epilogue explains some things and has some interesting stuff as well as much fluff, promise that too :3 _

_**Now please enjoy :3**_

* * *

**Chapter C**

**General POV**

It began to annoy him, Jason's pacing around the cell. Nico glared up at the son of Jupiter and opened his mouth to tell him to stop or he was going to make him. Instead, he was interrupted by the guy himself who had stopped mid-step and looked over to him.

"Can you make yourself invisible in the shadows?" he asked as if it was part of what his brain was coming up with. Nico frowned, thought about it a bit and then shook his head.

"Not that I know of…never tried though." He said, shrugging. Jason sighed heavily and went on with the walking as if that wasn't good enough for him. The son of Hades wanted to open his mouth again when Jason interrupted again.

"Then you should just bring us up there, I really don't have a good feeling about this…" he admitted and finally, the others chided in, nodding in agreement and glancing over to Nico.

"I agree. But it's too risky to just teleport up there without knowing what's going on or where to land. I could have us all end up in Hades and you really don't want that." Nico admitted. Thalia laughed drily.

"No, we really don't. That one time was enough, thank you very much." She said but bit her lip. "But Jason's right, I'm extremely concerned about what in Hades is going on up there. It's too quiet and there are no guards, we could just…go." She said and glanced out into the hallway. It was quiet out there, Nico had to admit. Far too quiet. No sound at all was reaching their ears but eery, annoying quietness. The big house hadn't been silent all night, not even at four a clock. There had always been people busy or marching or guarding or whatever Romans did during the night. But never in all the time in here it had been this quiet and it was putting all of them off. Something was wrong, so very wrong. Finally, Nico sighed. He pressed his forehead into his hands and ruffed his hair. Then he suddenly stood up.

"Fine. Let's do this…"

All of the Romans present who were not out of their mind by some control rune on their back were holding their breath as the scene unfolded before them. Zoe felt her legs finally move and she had this small thought in the back of her mind that told her she'd never run this fast in her life ever again.

Dakota dropped her dagger to her side. She had been fighting with it instead of the sling because they were all forced to fight in close combat by now, nobody was able to hold the others back for very long and they couldn't just kill them. They were still soldiers. As coldblooded and calculative as the Romans were, that would be just cruel. The daughter of Venus saw Annabeth raise her dagger though, saw Percy pass out and hold his stomach, a dagger pointing out of it with the hilt pointing up in the sky. Annabeth seemed to stare into nothing, her grey eyes didn't reflect any of the early sunlight at all and Dakota noticed her mind think that this was a little strange. That was when she noticed the glow on Annabeth's neck and that was also when she finally understood what was happening. Well, as much as she needed to, anyway. Somehow, the daughter of Athena was possessed too. Somehow, the curse or whatever it was had gotten to her. Was it contagious? And why had Hazel attacked her in the first place? She didn't understand this fully but despite that, she knew that this knife, this bronze knife she now raised, would definitely kill Percy on the spot if nobody did something, anything, to prevent it. She felt her feet drag her, felt hands grab her to hold her back but she lashed out with her knife, cutting into arms she didn't bother to recognize while trying to get free. She saw Gwen do the same but around them, the soldiers who had been possessed had become suddenly still, all grabbing for those who tried to intervene. Silence fell over the battlefield, all of the possessed grabbing for the fighters, dropping their own weapons and staring at the scene before them, heads turned. Dakota saw them open their mouths, all of them at once, even those who were unconscious.

"This is what happens, Son of Poseidon, when you mess with me or my sons. This is what you get. Let it be a reminder to your precious, helpless friends…" the voice was creepy and seemed to shiver through her bones via vibration, sending thousands of shivers down her spine. Again, she tried to jerk free as she watched the knife finally descent, heard several people cry out, felt herself scream Percy's name.

Suddenly, Dakota saw somebody moving. The only one on the whole battlefield, in fact. It was Zoe, she seemed to have been ignored by the soldiers somehow, as if her existence wasn't important enough to hold back from interfering. She ran, fast, faster than Dakota would have guessed she even could. And despite all odds, despite everything Dakota feared that bottled inside her and let the tears rise in her eyes because she could see the blood dropping down Percy's shirt, could see his unconscious face that had this little content smile on that wasn't supposed to be there, despite the possessed soldiers around them and the knife that was already coming down as if they were trapped in slowed time, despite all that, Zoe actually made it. The daughter of Venus, along with all the others around her, all the soldiers from legion one, watched as Zoe flung herself at Annabeth in full speed, knocking her to the ground so hard that they slithered at least two meters. Percy stayed where he was, unconscious but bleeding but Annabeth was pinned beneath Zoe now, the knife far off behind her. Unfortunately for Zoe, Annabeth was perfectly trained and possessed, so well capable of fighting off a thirteen year old little girl on top of her. But again against all odds, Zoe just gripped Annabeth's wrist and as Annabeth tried to sit up, anger in her eyes, Zoe pressed her open hand against the girl's neck.

Grey eyes widened and the daughter of Athena let out a full scale scream. It sounded so painful that Dakota had to turn her gaze away. From Zoe's hand, a glow emitted, streaming through her slender fingers as if she was holding a miniature sun.

Then several things happened at once.

First, she heard howls. Wolves had appeared to the battle, scattering and forcing down the soldiers that were holding their own friends against their own will. Secondly, these soldiers seemed to just drop. Even the ones that were still conscious were knocked out, easily dragged aside by the wolves. It made Dakota free of her bonds by the strong hands of some Mars kid and she immediately ran over to Percy, dropping at his side, panic still in her chest. Thirdly, a strange sound was heard behind her and as she didn't bother to whirl around and see what it was, she had to wait and see how suddenly, the Greeks were there, without their weapons but ready to fight. They seemed gobsmacked that there actually was no fight but the sight that was before them seemed enough to startle anybody.

"What in Hades happened here?" asked the boy in black, who somehow seemed ready to pass out from exhaustion. Then they took in the scene.

"Percy!" the boy in black cried out, as well as the guy with the pretty obvious horns on his head and a girl with spiky hair.

"Annabeth! Oh dear gods what happened?" asked the others while the Greeks made their way over. But all of them were stopped by the sight of Zoe standing up. Annabeth herself was conscious now and she had stopped screaming, rubbing her neck. Strangely enough, she looked normal again. Zoe stood on her feet again now, her hand was still glowing and she looked down at it. With a startled breath, Dakota saw that her hand wasn't filled with light, it was actually consumed by flames, white-orange flames that didn't seem to hurt her at all. Zoe watched in pure fascination as they ran over her fingertips before they vanished into thin air. Everything was still around them, all Roman soldiers and all Greeks were watching the mortal just standing there and for the first time since she knew her, Dakota honestly wondered who in Hades Zoe was. Or what. She saw a Hispanic boy with black curls she hadn't noticed last night lift his eyebrows and open his mouth as if he wanted to ask something about that but then close it again to just blink in confusion.

A cry disturbed the silence. Dakota looked away from Zoe and saw Annabeth, who had spotted Percy on the ground. Oh no…

"_Percy_! No….no!" she cried out and there was so much heartbreak in her voice, Dakota could almost physically feel it. It had taken her some time to actually get over her crush on the son of Poseidon. But the daughter of Venus knew true love when she saw it and it was clearly there, in Annabeth's eyes, mixed with so much sorrow.

"I'm so sorry, so…so sorry…Percy! Please….!" She had come over and dropped to her knees immediately. Her hand was stroking Percy's cheek and it was shaking really badly, tracing all his wounds with her lungs drawing in heavy breaths. The blonde seemed close to a panic attack, trying to pull herself together with sheer willpower. Without her expecting it, Annabeth turned to Dakota. There was so much desperation in her at the sight of Percy's blood flowing over the purple material of his sweater and down the ground, now also sticking to her own hands that she didn't even bother with the fraud she seemed to have developed towards Dakota down in the cellar.

"Don't you have healers? Children of Apollo? Please, some Nectar, anything!" The emotionless tone in her expression was completely gone now, there were tears in her eyes just as much as they were in Dakota's own as she looked down to Percy, whose hand Annabeth was squeezing now while the other tried to press cloth to the wound on his stomach, getting even more blood on her hands in the process. Percy's face was so very pale and the lack of movement or real emotion, not even pain, in his face made the nerves in her stomach twitch. Dakota wanted to call out for Gwen, to whirl around and shout for her, when suddenly the desired daughter of Apollo was already there, dropping opposite from her and Annabeth and gently showing Annabeth's hand away from the wound.

"It's okay, Annabeth. I'm a daughter of Apollo. He's going to be fine." How was she so calm? How could she be so sure? Dakota had no idea but she saw that Annabeth nodded, a small sign of relief in her eyes. She still gripped Percy's hand, watching his face while Gwen worked, a light coming from her own hands that was so much different from the one just appearing in Zoe's. It wasn't hot and orange glowing but rather white and warm, giving away a feeling of comfort and healing. Dakota had always admired these powers on the children of Apollo, sometimes even envied them a little. Annabeth's grey eyes watched Percy intently and she brushed over his hair, the cut on his cheek, all of it with affection in her eyes. Without looking up again, she spoke.

"He knew, Thals. He remembered all along." She whispered, almost too quiet. Thals? Who was Thals? But Dakota had her questions answered when the spiky haired girl kneeled beside Annabeth, staring at the unconscious son of Poseidon and then back at Annabeth.

"What? But…how? How do you know that?" she asked. She had electric blue eyes that seemed to emit energy while she spoke and she had freckles all over her cheeks with strong make-up around her eyes and clothes that reminded her of people Dakota had once seen on the street, living there or just hanging out in inappropriate places. But her posture told the daughter of Venus that she was a warrior, too. And her eyes reminded her of Jason's, somehow, even if the rest of her looked entirely different. But she had a strong aura like him and like Percy, telling Dakota that she was probably extremely powerful a demigod too. Annabeth smiled now, a sad smile while she brushed over Percy's cheek again with the hand that wasn't covered with his blood. Color slowly returned to his face as Gwen worked while she herself turned more ashen but didn't really care. Dakota made an inner promise to stop her from passing out from exhaustion at one point.

"When he threw himself before me, you know, when the knife was supposed to hit me instead of him….he said '_**Now**__ we're even, Wise Girl_.'" A small laugh escaped her lips, Dakota wasn't sure if it was a laugh or a sob really. The other Greeks and soldiers had begun to gather around them now. Zoe was there too, and all of the soldiers still shot her vary glances. Dakota saw the other Romans awakening and questioning what was happening while the wolves walked around and helped with the many injured, helped getting them to the infirmary and organize everything to be taken care off. She saw people leaving from Percy's side, saw Hazel's guilty expression as she turned away to help the other injured and Reyna's worried glance when she and Bobby did the same, Bobby's arm around her shoulder for support, since Reyna had injured her leg.

"Like he ever had to repay me for what I did back in Manhattan…" Annabeth's voice was just a whisper now, her hand brushing Percy's cheek like it was a mantra to her. Thals, or whatever her real name was, smiled and shook her head.

"Idiot." She just said and dropped back into the blood stained grass. Behind her, a chuckle erupted from the guy in black. He had heavy shadows under his eyes and generally looked like he hadn't had a good nights' sleep in months.

"Indeed. He's never been much for brains, has he?" He had a tired grin on his face but to Dakota's surprise, the humor in his voice made Annabeth smile a little.

"Yeah, it's nice to be back just to have your cousins and girlfriend insult you over your unconscious body. Some nice relatives you are." Everybody whirled around at that tired and weak voice but even if it was weak, it brought a teary smile to Dakota's face as well as Annabeth's. Percy was awake, his green eyes sparkling and even if he looked still really pale and his injury still pretty bad, he was grinning and that told Dakota that he was going to be just fine with enough rest forced upon him. She looked up and smiled a thankful smile at Gwen, who smiled right back. But she didn't intervene. All of them saw the look Percy and Annabeth were exchanging and none of them, even the bystanders dared to say anything to interfere with this.

"Percy!" the daughter of Athena cried out. She ignored what Gwen said about being careful since the wound was still not closed and leaned down to her boyfriend while Percy half said up, hugging him to her chest fiercely. He chuckled at the impact but winced a little because of it too.

"That would be me, Wise Girl." Percy answered, his grin typically cheesy but despite his tiredness and wound, his green eyes seemed to glow upon seeing Annabeth before him. Same went for the blonde daughter of Athena, whose grey eyes where whipped from tears with her sleeves now while she shook her head in disbelieve about Percy's behavior. She parted from him but stayed close to his face, the smile never leaving her.

"You really are an idiot sometimes, Seaweed Brain.", she commented with a now slowly forming grin on her face. And in front of the still confused cloud of Roman Soldiers, who were walking around or standing to watch or generally seemed pretty confused for an organized army, the two of them kissed, their lips meeting gently but still passionately, as if they hadn't seen each other in months and were eating away on each other for the missed out time now. Dakota wondered how many of them were confused why Percy kissed some random Greek chick but she ignored that thought immediately. Percy's hand went up to grab Annabeth by the blonde hair while she left her hand on his cheek, drawing him in even deeper. Dakota almost couldn't watch the intimacy but something kept her eyes on them, some feeling deep inside her that made her warm from the inside out.

_I did always love these two together._ A beautiful female voice inside her head sang, like a bright bell sounding off the walls of a cathedral. With a jolt, Dakota knew exactly who this was.

_Mom?_ She asked, almost expecting no real answer. Almost no Roman soldier had ever spoken to their godly parent, much less heard their voice in their heads. But there was a chuckle for an answer. Nothing more but the chuckle, telling her that she had guessed correctly. When her mom had arranged this, it was no wonder she never really stood a chance with Percy. Not that she would want to now. The feeling of sadness because of it was gone, too and she looked away now, glancing up into the remaining faces of her friends and the Greeks, who did seem pretty nice, even though it was a mystery to her how they even got here. Or how Zoe was able to burn that sign from Annabeth's back. Or how these things got there in the first place, who put them there, and if it was really Gaea they were up against. And how the hell were they supposed to fight the earth itself? What had the voice meant with 'mess with me and my sons'? Could they work together with Greeks, at all?

There were still so many questions to be answered. But for now, Dakota was glad that it was over, glad that she didn't have to see her friends slaughter each other anymore. Glad that Percy had Annabeth back again, after all he'd been through, both of them had probably been through, they really deserved it.

And she had a deep, blossoming hope that it could maybe, one day, stay this way.

* * *

_Yay, Percabeth :3 I really enjoyed writing this, I hope you enjoyed reading it too! For those of you who will stop reading at this point, thank you so very much for your permanent support and that you read through till the end. I know not all of you write reviews but I see that you view and fav and follow this and that is already a great reward, thank you so very much! *hugs you half to death*_

_And for the reviewers especially: Thanks so much for telling me what you think every chapter, it always warms my heart if I get up in the morning and see that I have reviews and I scroll through and I get all fuzzy and it motivates me so much and awww, I don't think I can thank you enough, this wouldn't have come this far without you guys ;_;_

_T_T_

**Hope you liked it, please tell me what you think! :3**

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**Answer of the last Quiz: **_Santa Monica  
_

**Next Question:_ WHAT'S THE RIVER CALLED THAT SEPARATES CAMP JUPITER FROM THE MORTAL REALM AND MADE PERCY LOSE HIS CURSE?_**


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